Mr Reaper

by EeveeGen9988

A young Reaper set in his ways has enough of seeing Shibuya being left unprotected from criminals, and finds himself leading those of common interest to take action. If only he knew how one step to betterment would lead to another he would take alone... Written for [Shibuya Operation - Story Storm 2019-present] and [Twelve Shots of Summer 2019].

9. Mr Spectator

Mr Reaper

I do not own The World Ends With You, Square Enix does!

Mr Reaper Part 8 was written for Shibuya Operation - Story Storm (SOSS) 2020/21; previous chapters (Parts 0 and 1) were posted during Twelve Shots of Summer (TSoS) 2019 and Parts 2 to 7 were posted during Shibuya Operation - Story Storm (SOSS) 2019/20 and 2020/21.

...

Part 8 - Mr Spectator

---

Months ago...

---

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to handle an issue over back where I work. I mean, where I usually work."

"..."

"Had so many reapers asking me questions and I couldn't get out of there until now. I guess that's what it means to be important… Important, as in... other people will immediately turn to you and expect that you can snap your fingers and poof away their problems."

"..."

"Then I had to check in with my boss and hear him out, so it wasn't like I was intentionally leaving you alone. The last thing I want is for you to be laid out to dry and fall apart on me. I know how fragile you are, so I can't risk skipping out on constant surveillance…"

"..."

A sigh sounded, "Look, I know it's not the best to… you know… come out with my problems when I'm on duty, but it's hard sometimes. Sure, I have loads of reapers looking to me… but I can hardly say I have many friends when I come to think about it."

"..."

"A coworker of mine mentioned something. They said it's like… we're not truly friends if we only work with each other. It's like we're all 'reaper friends'. We can work together, but at the end of the day… no one cares 10,000 Yen about each other."

"..."

"...Did you have friends when you were alive?"

"..."

"...Thought so."

"..."

"For me, I can safely say I have one good pal I can call a friend. That's better than having none, right?"

"..."

"It can get lonely in my line of work… and I have my own devices to tend to. Makes one want to branch out…"

"..."

"Could say that I feel better than I used to, not that what I do lowers me to the dumps… It's just that it feels nice, knowing unlike the other lot, you can actually give me input."

"..."

"Could you say… we're friends?"

---

- Present Day -
1975

---

"What makes you think we're going back?"

The Harrier had frowned when the other female Harrier told him that. His eyes immediately drifted towards the other two Reapers sitting on the couches before he tilted his head. "Sorry, I didn't think you were actually staying when you said you only came to see me."

Their conversation was one the Harrier was hardly prepared for. He had only come out of the room with Andy when she said she had to go, but the fact that the other Reapers hadn't budged was the centerpiece of his confusion. While he could let himself be fine with this, it was downright disorientating when it came to faring with the fact he didn't feel comfortable relaxing in the living room if they took up residence in said room. Call him petty or ridiculous, but his boundaries of what he was okay with and felt took precedence in his social life.

The Harrier crossed his arms, remaining where he was close to the edge of the living room and hallway. "But could you at least enlighten me with why that's the case."

"Even though we have the Barracks warded again, going back just doesn't feel right," said the other male Harrier curtly as he sighed in frustration. He shook his head as he stretched his arms behind his neck, soon reclining his head's weight against it. "I know I won't sleep after hearing about the bullshit we were fed today."

"And you're faring fine yourself, Blackie," schewdly added the female. Her hood stayed in the Harrier's direction as she breathed out tersely, "You at least had someone to take you in after what happened to the Barracks."

"Argh." The Harrier shook his head as he groaned unhappily then pointed back. "First of all, I didn't mean to forget about turning in my dysfunctional Taot Papers-" She snorted, making him narrow his eyes as he shook his finger. "And second, my name isn't Blackie."

"Don't be fussy, it's not insult." She shrugged with a sigh afterward, "It's just a way for us to identify you around the Underground."

"You know how it is…" The Harrier lowered his finger slightly and furrowed his eyebrows. He turned his head to the other male Harrier as he nodded. "A lot of us start tagging names on those we don't know, since we hardly have a reason to make everyone a part of our friend circles."

"Okay…?" The Harrier raised an eyebrow at that as he folded his arms again then pursed his lips. "But why Blackie?"

The other male Harrier adjusted his feet. "Well… the popular nickname running around for you is Blackie," explained the Reaper more as he shrugged with his hands. "You wear a black hoodie instead of the standard yellow, and since you used to always get our attention with telling us to not go after Andy's 'kills'... a lot of us had to come up with something so we knew we were talking about the same person."

Even with that logical information, the Harrier couldn't help but scowl about it. It was true in the past he cleared Andy's path to aid her so she could have her fill to further bank her Survival Capacity, but was he that obnoxious about it that they had to slap something on him? He didn't know why he hadn't even heard of this before, but he had to say... he didn't like it one bit.

Yet instead of acting petulant about it, he carded it away and simply tightened his grip on his arms. "I suppose that makes sense." With a quiet sigh, he wondered if a name change was possible if the Vultures were open to not chasing after him on sight.

As he pondered over the likelihood of that happening, he eventually cocked his head after a while of silence on his part and murmured coolly to the Reapers watching him, "I hope you weren't offended earlier, but I never got a chance to find out what your names." A second later, he added milder with a flick of his head back to its prior angle. "Or, if you're more comfortable, what do they call you three on the field?"

If he was going to be possibly rooming with these three, keeping the peace and encouraging the growth of camaraderie was a necessity. ...Even if the Harrier didn't think he'd want more friends to his name. But nonetheless, breaking the ice was a must since they were previous Legalization followers.

"Um…" The red-hooded Support that wasn't Jimmy raised his hand meekly beside the reclining Harrier. "W-We met a few Weeks ago…" The Harrier dipped his head in acknowledgment of that, as the voice and nerves in the Support's voice was familiar. "I-I don't think other Reapers call me by anything, b-b-but my name is Kiba Nakai."

Nodding at that, the Harrier promptly bowed politely after speaking. "It's nice to make your acquaintance again."

As the black-hooded Reaper pulled himself back up, Nakai got up to bow before sitting back down in his seat. The Reaper beside him spoke next as the Support sat up properly again, "I don't really mind what you call me. Itoh was the only thing I got at the orphanage."

"Noted. It's nice to meet you today." The Harrier grimaced for a moment when he thought the last word Itoh delivered before bowing.

After receiving another bow in return, the moment Itoh was seated again and settled back to resting the back of his head on his arms, the female Harrier finally went calmly after she nodded, "It's Daitan Sadorume." She crossed her legs as she added tersely, "Usually Reaper nicknames are given when you're popular, even for the things that make Reapers hate you."

"Aren't I lucky…" muttered the Harrier darkly before bowing to her then swiftly straightened himself. "It's nice to meet you too." After a few seconds, he mused, "And I suppose because Andy already has a nickname, she doesn't really have any additional ones I should know about."

As dry as his joke was, Sadorume nodded curtly. "Aside from being a natural blonde or not, we all know she has to have an actual name."

He scowled at that, wrinkling his nose as he managed to not retort something uncivil. "Contrary to belief, Andy won't accept anything else as that for it," the Harrier replied coolly as he loosened his hold on his folded arms. When they were at his sides, he went on with a sigh, "Unless I've implied it wrong, then you should know that Andy will always be American before Japanese."

And that was all he had to leave it at. Andy wasn't here right now, nor was it his place to reveal anything personal.

As he set his gaze on her, keeping his irritation to a minimum, he blinked soon upon hearing Nakai. "D-Do you want us to call you by your real name?"

His chest tightened.

The Harrier took a few moments to think it over before merely shaking his head. "I'm not in a position to change what the public calls me, but I'd also rather not advertise my birth name." He then raised a palm up as he added grimly, "It's not like anyone here bothers to make an effort to know it."

'And if they did know it, that's practically footprints to my identity.'

"Wh-Who doesn't?" asked Nakai meekly.

Allowing for a grimace to pass through his expression, the Harrier internally readied himself for the explanation.

"Usually the Posh Bastard feels obligated, like the rest of society, to remind you about your surname," he started curtly as he leaned against the corner, crossing his arms yet again as he lowered his chin. "But for all the times I've stayed in this Plane, never once has he referred to me by something." He frowned irritably with a narrow of his eyes. "It's like he thinks I don't deserve to hear my family name all the time, nor has he asked me what I'd like to be hailed by."

While he found this topic was a personal and sore one, he didn't mind expressing what was on his mind. It was pretty stupid, that he had a name and nobody thought to use it. Either they knew it and didn't want to use it or they didn't because he wasn't up to sharing everything about himself to strangers…

It kind of was a blessing. As mixed as that blessing was, all the more power to remaining anonymous and not confronting how he grew out of his old self to be someone that was both worse and better than he had been. Not to mention, if the Posh Bastard wanted to be the Conductor, he had no power over the Harrier disrespecting the man's preferred title or wishes. That man can have no name and the Harrier could do the same thing, dammit!

Bringing his narrowed eyes away from them, bothering to count the number of dust particles drifting in the kitchen light, the Harrier wondered how much longer it would be until Jimmy came back from buying materials for his wares. The lanky Reaper had left fifteen minutes ago apparently, so the Harrier settled with the knowledge that the Support wouldn't be back for quite some time.

However, talking with these Reapers was far from being considered fun. But he supposed he couldn't complain; at least they shared the common interest of disliking- or, in his case, hating- the Posh Bastard.

Inhaling deeply, he let out the air as he mumbled dryly, "If you're going to stay here, you might as well be in for the shock of your lives." He shrugged with his shoulders. "Not enough things for five people to sleep on."

While he applauded his use of the obvious, Itoh was the first to respond, "I'm used to taking the ground. Not getting adopted and growing up too fast equips you for that." Even if his voice didn't betray it, the implication was sad enough to the Harrier.

"I-If you guys need the spaces more," then said Nakai nervously. "I'll go on the carpet."

The Harrier unwound his arms to contentedly clap his hands together. "Then that's settled."

Sudorume's tone was intense as she spoke up, "That's not an arrangement." She immediately crossed her arms with a rough shake of her head. "It makes them lesser than they should be and isn't fair treatment."

Even if that made the Harrier a little unhappy, he had to acknowledge she did have a point and scolded himself for jumping on that idea too soon. He was basically agreeing to creating an importance gap, showcasing he didn't care about the ones getting the shorter straws. It was downright insulting, even if the two did volunteer.

"I apologize for being hasty then," he conceded politely while dipping his head to her. The Harrier soon straightened his posture as he raised a hand and whisked it a little. "How do you suppose we should go about this?"

She made an impressed noise in her throat. It was though she was pleased he wasn't stupid enough to counter her claim before lowering her crossed leg. "What have you and Calristein been doing?" she started calmly as she sat up more.

The Harrier placed his hand on his covered nape sheepishly. "He's been insistent on me taking up residence with his bed while he takes a couch."

Her shoulders rose. "On purpose?" Her tone was accusing, though it was to be expected.

"I tried to be polite and presented a sound case for why I shouldn't be keeping him from his bed," returned the Harrier firmly, gathering his hands together as he added with a small sigh, "But he begged to differ... which is why he was insistent in the first place."

The Harrier left it at that. He wasn't going to admit to these Reapers he had an appall to slumbering in darkness.

After a few seconds, her shoulders lowered as she nodded slowly and sipped on her oxygen quietly.

As she kept her hood on him, he decided to move the discussion along. So he lifted his held hands then tilted them in her direction, casting his gaze to the other two. "Like Sadorume said, it would be for the best if we all had a chance to take the fall for the team." When the two of them shared looks, the Harrier let his face rest and hands detach as he went on, "I believe we can make things work between the five of us and for the most of it. After all, we all deserve to have a good night's sleep."

The feeling of being expected to do something was grating, but if it meant getting along with someone, especially those who weren't going to report him hopefully, he'd relax his principles for just one time.

But while he knew the conversation was coming to a close, the Harrier could only feel uneasy about the prospect of giving up the bed. Even though he knew it was right, that being the expected course of action, the Harrier closed his eyes at the thought of reuniting with his nightmares.

---

Once Jimmy came home from doing his material shopping, the New Zealander hadn't so much as had a chance to put his bags away when they dragged him into their discussion. He simply stood by the counter (he put his bags on) as he was being filled in, and the Harrier had to say, he wasn't expecting that the Support didn't seem accommodating to the subject.

Throughout the whole exchange, the Harrier saw the little changes the Support's face was making, like Jimmy was purposefully conveying them to the Harrier. Appearing mostly pensive, but his shoulders were rigidly shifting once and awhile. It was obvious that Jimmy was taking this topic seriously, the Harrier privately made note of, as he quietly waited on the other's opinion. He just wasn't sure what to make of it yet until Jimmy expressed his thoughts.

"I don't want to sound like a downer," eventually said Jimmy as he was biting down on his lip, frowning afterward as he continued uncomfortably, "But will you be crashin' durin' the Day? I just don't know if you're goin' to be rowdy, is all."

"Right now, possibly. But if you don't want us here, we'll look elsewhere," replied Sadorume as she and the other two nodded.

That brought an uneasy look to Jimmy, one of which the Harrier quickly acted upon once he noticed it. "You don't have to say yes, Jimmy," he said as reassuringly as he could to the other by the counter, earning a quick nod from him. "But if being at the Barracks is bothering them, would it hurt to let them stay?" He grimaced when he added sheepishly, moving his hand to his nape as he padded over to Jimmy's side, "Not to pressure you or anything…"

Jimmy turned his head and lowered his voice. "No worries, Bro, but I don't know them ow well." He frowned tighter and furrowed his eyebrows worriedly. "I don't want my wares munted if they're too rowdy…"

The Harrier nodded in understanding before whispering back, "Your home, your call."

Jimmy took a while until he turned back to the awaiting Reapers, inhaling before he spoke firmly, "If you're rowdy and make problems… I won't want you to crash here."

"W-We'll try not to!" stuttered Nakai, fervently nodding as he smacked his hands together. Itoh and Sadorume, on the other hand, settled with more controlled nods as Jimmy's chest slightly deflated.

"Sweet as then," murmured Jimmy as his grey eyes closed, relaxing as he looked back to the Harrier, who gave a thumbs up for support. After getting a smile on the other Reaper's face, the Harrier lowered his arm.

He blinked curiously as he breathed, "On the note of sleeping arrangements, me and those three had a chat before you got here." Jimmy nodded, but from his expression, the Harrier felt his voice may have been a little too grave. He was hoping to have not made it obvious he wasn't looking forward to the discussion, but the Harrier would only be lying to himself.

The Harrier merely didn't want to know whether or not his worries were going to come true. But the universe hated him, so… he didn't have much of an option to veto it.

Telling himself he wasn't doing it out of nervousness, the Harrier clasped his hands and cleared his throat before he breathed in. "The only issue is... we can only have three people sleeping comfortably at night. But if we take turns and swap each other out constantly…"

Jimmy immediately shook his head. "Bro, you're still takin' the bed."

The Harrier was torn between feeling relieved or unsatisfied that he wouldn't be parting with the room. To be frank, he felt that it was overkill that Jimmy didn't even take a moment to consider his options carefully and arrive at a reasonable decision.

Yet all he did was lift his shoulders while turning to face Sadorume. Hopefully that was enough to convince her he wasn't fibbing about the bed situation.

She simply sighed but crossed her arms, "And you're sure you don't want your bed back?"

"Hard out." Jimmy frowned as he intently returned her look seriously. "Straight-up believe there's nothin' wron' with lettin' him have it, mate."

"But why?" she then asked skeptically.

"If he's sleepin' in there, it's further away from the door and gives me time to stall if Reapers want to suss the house for him," Jimmy told her as he hardened his look. His gaze briefly flickered to the Harrier as he went on sternly, "If I can give him enough time, I'm sure he can get a ripper idea up and runnin' to avoid bein' popped back."

The Harrier eyed her furtively as he tried to enthusiastically thump a hand onto his chest. "Strategy at its finest." He tried to grin convincingly to himself.

While the logic was sound, the Harrier reminded himself that there was only so much he could do when that time came. But he still had to try if it came to that. However, with how Shadow's Play always left a copy of himself, that he would have to get rid of before thinking about fleeing the scene, and that he couldn't trust that Cripplecheck didn't had a time limit, he pretty much had one option. If he got trapped in the room, he'd have to resort to pulling himself to the Realground and make a run for it and hope that the Vultures in pursuit weren't faster than him. Only if he didn't take too much time trying to put himself in the Realground, mind you.

Besides, it was better than staying inside the room for his safety. It didn't even have a lock.

Ignoring the looks he was receiving, the Harrier shifted his feet as he focused on his friend again. "But you can never not expect hiccups," he said with a shrug.

"Not goin' to happen, Bro," said the Support with a frown. He shook his head. "Not if I have anythin' to say about it."

The Harrier accepted that but bit his lip apprehensively. 'I doubt confidence will cover us forever, though…' He checked on the other Reapers warily. 'I still have my doubts about them. There's always a chance one of them could lead the Posh Bastard here, but I won't assume anything without solid evidence first.'

He narrowed his eyes but kept his tone light. "If it's alright with you, I think you don't have further need of me." He didn't hesitate to enter the hallway, leaving behind his onlookers to finally seek refuge in his still allotted space.

But once he shut the door, hearing the click, he released a long drawn sigh as he shook his lowering head. 'Phew, I survived civility…' He wearily looked at the bed and headed to it. The Harrier couldn't bring himself to close his eyes just yet, turning his head to the door. 'But I better get used to it for the moment.'

After all, it's not like he could keep his distance from them for too long if they're sleeping over.

---

"Feelin' up to sittin' in the shop today?"

The Harrier groggily pulled blankets over his head in response and grumbled something. He wasn't sure what he could have possibly said, seeing as his mind couldn't string together a coherent thought.

And yet, as Jimmy still waited on an answer, the Harrier frowned as he eventually huffed grumpily, "Bed's cozier…"

"You… feelin' all good, Bro?" questioned Jimmy unsurely as the Harrier stubbornly stayed still, waiting for the exhaustion to take him back with it. Yet he grew frustrated that he could only lay there, feeling his head protest and his eyelids flicker erratically at every sound coming from the other room. "You sound to the Days knackered."

The Harrier grumbled yet sighed tersely, barely keeping his heavy eyelids open enough as he scrabbled with the bed in trying to turn to Jimmy. He could only hope he didn't joustle his hood too much as he peeked out from the ruffled opening in the blanket.

Jimmy was swimming in his vision, causing him to blink during his grimace at his dizziness. "Couldn't sleep. Too tired."

...Hopefully that made sense. He couldn't tell.

The only thing the New Zealander did was sigh, his gaze looking concerned as he bit his lip. "What's the problem?"

Squinting when Jimmy blurred, the Harrier tried to answer during his tired mumble, "Too much moving."

Throughout the night, the Harrier heard and felt every single thing that happened. He cursed how hard it was to put it out of his mind, to block it from his thoughts, as he could only catch a wink of sleep for two minutes at most. Even though it took him Weeks previously to get used to it in the Barracks, he couldn't say it was working out right now. He hated it thoroughly.

Jimmy was frowning more. "I could ask if 'ey could settle better?"

The Harrier made a disgruntled grunt and huffed again, "Sleepin's useless…" He felt his eyelids droop as he mumbled on, "Not helpful all…"

As his eyes fell closed, he grimaced when his head pounded more and Jimmy was still there. The Harrier groaned as he let himself lay limp on the mattress, "Sleepin's impossible, Jim…"

Jimmy nodded almost solemnly this time but came closer, soon staring down at him sadly. "Bro, you zonked out for a minute there. I think I'll set up by myself." He smiled. "Just take it easy for today."

The Harrier blinked but nodded sleepily. At least, as much as he could. His eyes shut again almost immediately as he heard Jimmy pad for the door.

But when he opened his eyes again, the Harrier could only squash his face against the pillow until he constantly repeated the same thing to the point when he woke up another time, he couldn't really make his strategy work again that time. Thus, while swearing under his breath, the Harrier roughly rolled himself over to his side, flapping his arms until he found the headboard before pulling himself up to sit.

He didn't think twice about grabbing the red hoodie after flinging off his black one, shuffling across the room, managing to locate the Scampers before leaving the premises. He wasn't even sure if he heard the other Reapers speaking to him or not, he gripped the rails for the stairs as his support before doing the same until he fumbled with Mana Saddleback's doorknob.

Upon coming into the shop, he didn't have too long to dwell there because he realized he was already lying on the ground. 'Fuck.'

"Bro!" The Harrier grimaced at the direction of Jimmy's voice, clenching his eyes closed as he heard the alarmed New Zealander again. "Have you gone owl!?"

He merely pulled his lips up before mumbling flimsily, "I went flyin' down?"

Jimmy didn't sound happy with that as the Harrier felt himself being helped up, swaying as he grimaced again in a pained frown. 'Maybe that wasn't the best idea…'

Before long, he was being brought back up both stairwells, soon stumbling in as Jimmy guided him. He sloppily tried to stop Jimmy so he could take off his shoes, but no sooner had he thought about doing that did he find himself back in the bed, hearing the door click shut. He must have been imagining the loudness of Jimmy in the next room before his consciousness slipped away again.

By the time the Harrier was awake once more, he blinked but felt better than before. Yet that wasn't the least of his problems…

When he turned to sleepily look at Jimmy, he couldn't help but feel immediately confused at the intensity the other's eyes had. "Jimmy?"

"You should have stayed in bed..." Why was Jimmy's voice tired? That was the only thing that came to mind when he stared frowning at the other, who looked less well put together than last time. "You faintin' in my shop made my heart almost stop, Bro."

"I would say that's romantic, but I didn't mean to syncopate there," said the Harrier gloomily as he half-closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Just don't do that again if you're that knackered…" sighed Jimmy as he shook his head. He placed a hand over half his face as he sighed again, his top fingers massaging his nearby temple as he walked a little ways towards the door. "I didn't have customers when you popped in, but seriously, Bro-" He frowned while narrowing his eyes as he whipped back. "You had me sick!"

"I'm sorry again…" the Harrier replied and huffed, frowning as he put a hand over his head. "I don't make the best decisions when I'm exhausted. I'm just surprised it didn't happen sooner."

As the New Zealander quietly took in this, Jimmy's expression grew softer. The Harrier felt a little guilty of course, given the fact that he could have possibly syncopated down one of the stairwells and broken his neck for Jimmy to find. He knew that broken necks could Erase you, but it wasn't as simple as it would be in the Realground. It's just that being in the Underground usually made you stupidly resilient to otherwisely crippling injuries…

He grimaced; he couldn't tell if that made sense. Lack of sleep was a bitch to have, to be frank. What was he expecting?

While letting his body relax into the mattress and pillow, softly sighing as he settled, he still frowned as he spoke, "Maybe you shouldn't take me seriously right now… I may still be afflicted with sleep dummy disease."

That made Jimmy snort out in amusement. "Lesson learned, Bro."

The Harrier smiled crisply, yet kept his eyes half-closed.

---

By the time the Harrier was fully awake, that time he accompanied Jimmy to sit in at the shop the next Day. But he felt bad that he may have trailed dirt into the house earlier, so before the Harrier left with Jimmy, he attempted to scrub out anything that looked like muck stuck on the carpet.

Of course, he didn't get too far because Jimmy dragged him off before he could check on more of the floor. It neither convinced nor made him feel better as he now sat on a stool, watching a few people come and go as Jimmy interacted with them. In between the transactions, the Harrier couldn't stop himself from pondering ways to make it up to the Support, but his efforts were eventually derailed completely when Jimmy declined each suggestion and told him to stop worrying.

So, because he couldn't make it up to Jimmy, all the Harrier could do was sigh and take part in conversations with the other until the remainder of Jimmy's shift ended.

"Another Day gone," murmured the Harrier as he gave a stretch from his stool. He held his arms above his head while contently groaning, "I keep forgetting what it's like to see customers in action."

"That's right, you said you used to deal with 'em." Jimmy was busying himself with looking over shelves, probably ascertaining his inventory. His tone was thoughtful as he added, "Must be weird for you gawkin' it and not bein' involved…"

At that, the Harrier took time in lowering his arms, his head soon following as he bit his lip. '...Yeah, it is.' He blinked as he soon shrugged. "Not like it's wise to ask for it back when I'm something else altogether now."

Jimmy craned his neck over his shoulder in the middle of sifting through small clay pots. "Do you miss it, Bro?"

The Harrier merely sighed and raised his shoulders, "I can't deny that I had. The couple I worked for were lovely persons and I wouldn't change anything about it." He started to frown. "Even if it weren't for the fact my father worked for them once… I'm pretty certain it wouldn't have hurt my chances in being considered."

A small frown formed from the visible edge of the New Zealander's lips then Jimmy slowly drew his attention back to the shelf. The Harrier, on the other hand, relaxed his muscles and tried to shake off his thoughts about it. He let his expression become neutral as he watched Jimmy work around the shop, as he didn't really feel like getting snagged into another conversation right now. The Harrier knew that the moment he did, he could possibly be brought into another awkward affair.

It wasn't that he was being antisocial, he told himself, it was a means for staying calm and only that.

But eventually, as the minutes passed by, he felt as if the air was a little too tight for comfortable silence. He almost grimaced, but let it fan out in his head as he quietly mused, "What do you think about our new roommates?"

Jimmy ambled over to another shelf. "'Ey're all good blokes. Don't know why you're strugglin' with sleepin' if it's because of 'em."

The Harrier grimaced this time and drew a hand into his hood to squeeze his nape. "I'm not trying to make you turn against them-"

"Bro, what are you goin' nuts 'bout?" Jimmy asked with a sudden laugh of amusement. "You reacted fast to that, so is it 'bout 'em?"

Right away, the Harrier felt his cheeks burn up from how true that was and the fact that Jimmy caught him like that. He choked out a few noises that held no intelligence before yanking his arm out from his nape, slapping it down on his lap as he sat up taller. "For the record- this isn't about me."

Jimmy nodded but his tone remained curious. "Not callin' you out as sus, but you haven't been this knackered since you first crashed at my grannyflat."

"Like I mentioned, it's not about me," the Harrier insisted stubbornly as he shook his head. He frowned afterward as he mumbled with more composure while raising a palm up, "...Is it a crime to ask about another's opinion? Especially about Reapers we know little about?"

"Not even, Bro," replied Jimmy with a shrug before calmly shifting another ware. "And even though we don't know 'em well, it doesn't hurt to get to know 'em."

The rebuttal on his tongue died and so did the breath he was using for it.

Straightaway, the Harrier frowned uncomfortably as he gazed down at his lap. He clenched his hands as he quietly sighed. 'Right, the one thing I'm not predisposed to.'

He could handle talking to people and Reapers, but the thought of opening up to strangers was a deal breaker. Sure, he's survived well with gradual exposure to company, but it was a matter of how comfortable he was and whether or not it was baby steps towards a person at a time. As in… not three at once, in this situation.

Call him awkward, but there was truth to what it meant to be a creature of habit. He didn't usually go out of his way to forge connections with people, people were the ones to find him. ...Unpleasant at times as it was, Andy and Jimmy were the exceptions.

Closing his eyes during his inhale, he thought over what he could say before he mumbled, "They only came because they don't like the Posh Bastard and wanted to know if I actually hadn't faded away. That's not enough to become instant friends over." He frowned as he shook his head again. "Nor is it practically a sign that they want to be friends. Because from the way I see it… they're a neutral party at most. For the moment, and for the fact their motives are untrusty at best."

"What makes you say that?" Jimmy asked as he returned to the desk. He soon stood across from the Harrier, who regarded him promptly. "You've hardly had a chance to yack with 'em."

The Harrier immediately raised a finger up and frowned sullenly at that. "They hardly have given me a reason to."

Jimmy cocked his head as his grey eyes appeared disappointed. "Then what was different 'bout me or Annee?"

Now that was a loaded question. The black-hooded Reaper merely sighed as he raised his chin up, "Well, you introduced yourself and made it fairly clear early on that you weren't just in it for the petition." Jimmy nodded at that with a frown. "And Andy had been one of my Partners. She approached me first after stalking me so I offered her Japanese lessons, then she wanted to know why I was hunting Wrongdoers and not the Players."

For a few seconds, Jimmy mouthed something before he put his hand on his chin. His light-coloured eyebrows furrowed. "Annee... stalked you?"

The Harrier nodded then waved his hand a little as he chirped, "I suppose there's only much one can do when they don't know you or your routine."

"No, no, no… Bro-" The Harrier's wry smile fell at the weird look Jimmy was now giving him. "Annee stalked you, got Japanese lessons from you, but also wanted to know why you were huntin' Wron'doers?"

As his lips went downward, the Harrier blinked back in confusion as he breathed, "And not the Players. And not forgetting the fact she had been a Partner of mine." With a bit of a grimace, he soon tilted his head as he murmured, "Not that it's not interesting you're big on repeating it… but why are you so fixated on that?"

The New Zealander expelled a breath and was silent as his gaze remained on the Harrier. His eyes were flashing with something akin to worry at best for some reason, yet the Harrier merely smiled again at this as he gave a laugh, "We really cliched after that... I hadn't imagined it would have happened."

In return, Jimmy simply smiled back after a while of his expression staying tight. "Ah… nah, yeah?"

Nodding back, the Harrier gave a chuckle as he shook his head lightly, "Yeah…" He smiled tenderly as he remembered how funny it was, that he somehow attained a friend because they spent enough time with each other out of necessity then doing work then finally from their overall companionship down the line. He'd never known what it was like actually having someone on that level of trust and care before when he was alive. And it felt good that not only had he gained a friend, it was also because he made the right decision to stay here in order to have…

"I could hardly bring myself to think about anything else, of how come I survived when we could have all survived… or how even one of us had after your fucked up decision."

The Harrier's hand was over his mouth and his body was trembling. He realized that over the sudden queasiness he now had.

"B-Bro…?"

The Harrier slowly raised his head as he blinked against the blurriness, seeing how Jimmy looked concerned as he stared back at the Harrier. And yet, the Harrier felt as if maybe the brief reprieve of happiness he had just now was a mere delusion. How could he think it was good that he gave up his life when he now knew it harmed those who could have used it more than him?

In the back of his mind, bits and pieces from that Day came back, bare resemblances of what he previously thought during that moment…

He couldn't help but gag at how much arrogance he sprouted over his fellow Players at that moment. He may not have thought they deserved it, but his ego was bloated from how much praise he received from the Posh Bastard. Over why he was a prime example, why he was better than them…

And he believed the Posh Bastard. He believed every word when he was struggling to stay sane over their jeers, insults and outrage over still not being chosen to live after he made his decision.

His fucked up decision.

He knew he shouldn't be letting that change his mind over what he had chosen, but it was easy to sit down and just accept the fact that the repercussions were significant. Even if with a more valid point that it wasn't in his control that he was chosen for the Second Chance, or that he decided to exist on this Plane instead because it suited him better... the Harrier still screwed up when he thought he had succeeded.

The Harrier wasn't better than them- they probably had lives that mattered more and took precedence over his sorry excuse of one. The fact that he shunned it without a second thought showed as much, that it would have been better given to anyone else that was present; meant that he was stupid to not think about the impact it would have had. He was stupid because he thought there was nothing wrong with choosing something he was far more interested in, invested in pursuing, because it was flattering and he thought it was a way to possibly become happier because it was something he wanted. Because it meant he could do something more in his existence than probably curling up next to dumpsters to starve off and die again.

Because when did the universe ever think he deserved to have something good for once?

Behind his back, it schemed against him until it had that Player Killer wrapped up neatly with a bow for him to unravel and be appalled at the misfortune he drove with his fucking hand. Even before then he realized he couldn't actually do the damn things he thought he wanted because he lost his purpose for existing because the Composer didn't want him to and because he couldn't stomach Erasing innocents even though it was what fucking Harrier Reapers were made to do, so it really was a fuck up of a decision because people suffered and got Erased because he wanted to be something he was clueless to have known he couldn't have been able to do in the first place! All because he-

His eyes suddenly caught a glint of light and something firm was underneath him.

As a spurt of speckles fell over his vision, he gasped and woozily leaned backwards. His swimming sight saw the sky of dusk and he eventually blinked gradually in confusion until his fingers curled against roughness… The roughness of a surface?

Blinking more, the Harrier managed stretch his fingers out and eased himself to sit up properly. His vision was clearer as he took in the sight, of the trees and bushes and the zooms of cars-

His breath stifled as his hood slowly turned to one side then the next to see Jimmy beside him. He immediately parted his lips to gape before giving a shuddery exhale. As soon as he did that, Jimmy glanced at him almost immediately.

The Support smiled promptly with a sigh, sounding relieved, "You had me shit a brick back there."

Screwing his expression up as he frowned, the Harrier grimaced as he began hesitantly in his befuddlement, "...Why are we in Miyashita Park?"

...Or rather, how did they get to Miyashita Park? They were just in Jimmy's shop!

Jimmy didn't respond right away; his smile somewhat lowered as he stared at the Harrier. "...We left the shop almost an hour ago, Bro. Don't you remember?"

The Harrier merely grimaced more as he took in the information, soon letting his eyes drift to his red sleeves then their surroundings. The breeze was pleasant; the trees' rustling was easy to remain in his consciousness, even if he wasn't focusing on them; but the Harrier couldn't help but feel tense.

Why didn't he remember leaving the shop?

It would have been apparent at the time they were walking out... as well as that Jimmy would have told him it was time to leave. But arriving at a different destination and staying there for an hour? He placed a hand over his temple as he lowered his head into it, half-closing his eyes as he tried hard to recall any details that would have suggested he actually came here with Jimmy.

Usually when he had deep ponders, Andy would call him out on it quickly so there was no reason to worry about ignoring her. He considered the fact that he'd never actually moved around without knowing where he was going during these said times, as he would either be standing in place or concentrate on where he was once he was jolted out of his thoughts. However, it escaped him entirely how he could have just walked around without his active knowledge of it.

When you walked, you pictured the direction and locale you wanted to go to. When you sat down, you place yourself where you wanted. When you talk, you think about your words because you're past the stage of giggles and babble because your brain worked out what it was doing with you finally. But to walk around in the middle of freaking out over a recall of information? Did that count as a time for mulling over things? An odd version of sleepwalking but instead you're freakoutwalking?

The Harrier grimaced as he shook his head. There wasn't a clear enough explanation to answer any of this; he couldn't help but hate that.

"I reckon you're still knackered, so I don't blame you." Jimmy was staring at him still. The Harrier slowly drew his attention back towards the Support. "'Cept you bein' ow quiet had me worried."

"...I suppose I got lost in my thoughts then," the Harrier responded after dwelling in the hesitant pause long enough. He lifted his head up. "I do that a lot when I ponder, but Andy always interprets it wrong."

"By callin' you a zombie?"

The Harrier nodded with a deeper grimace. "Yeah, that's exactly it."

Jimmy momentarily appeared relieved before he chuckled warmly, "Then I reckon you're all good?" The Harrier nodded again with uncertainty and the New Zealander smiled. "Mean."

"I'm still confused about why you took me here, though," commented the Harrier as he leaned backwards into the bench. "Did you happen to have something to do here, or…?"

Jimmy's smile fell as his face grew neutral. "I don't have to have one to pop over here, Bro." He tapped his fingers against a sketchbook- the Harrier now noticed- as the lankier Reaper added, "But I'm guessin' you weren't plannin' on followin' me here either."

The Harrier's cheeks warmed up a bit in embarrassment before he cleared his throat. He brought a closed hand to his mouth to cough into it awkwardly, "Doesn't really matter… I got nothing to do back at the place anyway." The Harrier supposed all he could do was swallow his uncomfortableness of the current situation he was in and go with it for now.

Jimmy merely opened his book up, his gaze not revealing any sort of unease or confusion. It was as if the New Zealander was completely fine with the Harrier's lame excuse to cover up the perplexity of why he actually followed Jimmy here.

The Harrier immediately blinked as he cocked his head to watch Jimmy leaf through the pages, curiously keeping quiet as to not bother the other. Yet when he noticed an odd looking bird, he breathed out without thinking, "What's that?"

Upon ceasing to flip over to the next page, Jimmy let go of it to let it settle. On the sheet there was a drawing that the Harrier could only guess a child would have drawn, and from that assumption alone, the Harrier could only deduct that Jimmy must have been a very young child when he had gotten into art (or perhaps he may have underestimated Jimmy's drawing ability to a great degree). Aside from the fact he was looking at a crude drawing, he could pick out a somewhat sleek bird that was crayoned in with blue and black, with brown and pink colours on what seemed to be its wings, as well as the pink droopy things near its 'beak'.

"That's a saddleback."

The Harrier immediately snapped back to Jimmy in amazement. "Like your shop name?"

"Hard out!" Jimmy chirped as he chuckled warmly, proudly smiling down at the sketch. "It was the reason I got into art in the first place…"

As the Harrier's eyebrows rose, Jimmy placed a hand over the page, his fingers fluttering as he stroked part of the bird. "It flew into my backyard one day when I was a child, and when I tried to tell my mum and dad 'bout it, I wasn't clear enough. I snatched a paper and tried to put down what I thought it looked like, but even then I wasn't makin' sense even though it was fresh in my head."

Jimmy looked back at the Harrier mildly. "My mum and dad got me this sketchbook when I couldn't stop myself from tryin' to pin down its look. I eventually got into drawin' anythin' beautiful I saw, no matter what time of Day, place, or weather it was… I even got sick to the days at times! But even then, I kept explorin' around me, and makin' and makin' whenever I could." He then beamed. "And the rest is history."

The Harrier simply made a sound of interest in his throat before he hummed his thought, "That's sweet." Jimmy had placed his hands over each other on the sketchbook as the Harrier continued, "It almost sounds like being engrossed with your hobby aged well."

And maybe that was why Jimmy was so interested in the idea of the Harrier having a hobby as well, as it was something he could try to relate to. If the Harrier had looked into it further at the time, perhaps it could have been a bonding experience, the Harrier privately thought to himself.

His friend laughed at that as he started thumbing through the pages again, his eyes remaining bright as he focused on the other drawings. "It's like I said, Bro. Saddleback Mana is my life." His lips downturned. "Without it, it's like I'm tearin' out who I am."

While the Harrier silently agreed with the New Zealander on that, he couldn't help but feel saddened when he was recalling his life. He kind of wished he had something like Jimmy refused to let go of from it, yet all he had was bitter memories. He would rather forget they were his own, wanting nothing to show for it and push past the whispers, but he was pretty much cornered about where he could go on from them. What he wanted when flipping over a new leaf wasn't going to be attainable because it seemed the universe, even the Composer, didn't agree with him.

His head tipped forward; his gaze travelled downward as well when he quietly mumbled, "Jimmy… you could have not involved yourself with the Legalization. You're dealing with problems with your shop and friends… so why did you?"

The carefree atmosphere seemed to vanish at his words when he felt Jimmy shoot him a look. "Eh?"

Bitterly smiling as he didn't budge his gaze, the Harrier spoke again, "I'm asking you… Why did you take part with the Legalization when you had no need to?"

He slowly blinked as he waited, starting to clasp his hands on his lap when he felt how still Jimmy was. The New Zealander probably wasn't expecting this, so that made sense.

"Well…" started Jimmy as he leaned back against the bench, his head rising to look at the sky most likely. "Haven't I told you already, Bro?"

The Harrier shook his head. "I'm well aware of it, but it doesn't make sense to me why you had. Not with all the things you still have in your existence."

Jimmy released a sigh and went silent after that, but fairly soon he responded again with resignation, "I should be grateful for what I do have… but that doesn't excuse the fact other blokes may not have been as lucky as me." He readjusted his posture to sit up tall. "There are heaps of blokes who aren't good… there are also blokes who get the short end of the stick when they do good."

The Harrier nodded at that in agreement before the copper haired Reaper's shoulders tensed. "I pack a sad when Wron'doers get away with it."

Immediately turning his head to the lankier Reaper, the Harrier could only blink at the intensity of Jimmy's grey eyes. "Hmm?"

Jimmy responded again firmly while frowning, "All it takes is a good Day to go wron'. When you don't realize the mistake you're goin' to make…" His expression grew pained. "Wasn't obvious enough."

"...What are you talking about?" asked the Harrier in bewilderment.

All Jimmy did was sigh again before his eyes closed. "I pushed up daisies."

Blinking nonplussed at first, the Harrier didn't have the words to convey his shock. He merely stared at Jimmy almost unseeing for a while, only to blink again quickly when he noticed Jimmy's eyes were open again but were hardened.

"I was lockin' up my shop when I heard shoutin'," said Jimmy quietly as his gaze took on a weariness and sadness, frowning deeper as he went on, "A lady had her purse pinched by a bloke that popped past me and I chased after him, 'cause I was faster than she was. I didn't think 'bout what I was doin' until I was flat out, well on my way to gainin' on him... and then-" He grimaced hard. "He turned around and sank a knife into me."

The Harrier's breath stifled as he stared at the New Zealander. 'No…'

Jimmy's face screwed up as he choked out another response, "I ran right into his knife… then I found myself on the ground." The raw emotion of frustration soon reached his gaze. "Then I woke up in the Scramble Crossin'."

The first thing the Harrier did after hearing that was inhale a shuddery breath. His mind was whirling as his hand fell over his flank, almost feeling the pain again if he focused hard enough, while he continued to openly gawk at the taller Reaper. For a split second, the conversation he had with Jimmy Days ago resurfaced, dipping in and out of his ears...

His hand clenched the fabric of his hoodie and his heart pulsed deeply. He felt the need to look away, but he knew it wouldn't be appropriate to. To say he wasn't shaken by this information was a blatant lie; it was haunting to think about the imagery of seeing Jimmy on the ground bleeding out like that.

...Bleeding out like the Harrier had.

The Harrier's throat felt terribly dry even as he murmured out, "Jimmy..."

With a wipe of his sleeve, Jimmy merely looked away and closed his suddenly misty eyes. "Nah yeah, I was a drongo. But after hearin' that I could not stuff up again, I could hardly believe my ears that I could…"

"It's alright," breathed the Harrier, shaking his head as he continued earnestly, "You don't have to explain, I understand." He wasn't certain if he was, but he didn't have to think hard about it. A small part of himself was screaming to apologize to Jimmy, even though he didn't know what it was for.

He tried squashing the emotion down as he gathered his composure back as much as he could to focus on the other.

Jimmy sniffled sharply then exhaled, "Nah yeah?" With a firm nod of his head, the Harrier watched the other's body relax slightly. "All good then…"

The black-hooded Reaper frowned as he leaned back. It didn't sound like Jimmy was okay; the Support was trying to hide something. He knew it wasn't good to do this, yet he didn't want to ignore it any longer. Not when it was in his face. "And you've been struggling with the shop because of that..."

Jimmy didn't do anything but lower his head and that said enough to the Harrier. He nodded to himself before adjusting his posture, gazing at the Support with a newfound consciousness before he soon withdrew his gaze. 'I can't just leave him hanging like this...' He bit his lip guiltily yet steeled himself.

"...Hey," the Harrier said softly then swallowed unsurely. He hesitated a bit before raising a hand as he spoke on, "Things still may not have turned out the way we wanted, but at least you're able to pick up the pieces." When Jimmy's eyes rose up gradually, the Harrier's half-closed gaze concentrated on the New Zealander again. "You still have something to hold on to. And, uh-" He grimaced a little, feeling somewhat uncomfortable as he promptly brought his hand to his covered nape. "Th-That has to count for something, right?"

Jimmy eventually offered him a small smile. "Nah, yeah." The Harrier couldn't help but feel proud of himself for achieving something as small as that. "Chur, Bro."

As the Harrier kept his hand on his nape, he smiled back as he chuckled, "No problem..." He looked forward again as he added tentatively, "Got to look out for each other."

That got a watery laugh from Jimmy. "Hard out." He started to stand up and the Harrier followed his gaze to the darker sky. "Guess we better pop back home, Bro. It's gettin' late." The Harrier took a moment to get up then they set off together.

As they walked, the Harrier kept a close eye on the other before he finally opted on focusing on where he was putting his feet. He couldn't help but frown a little as he checked his surroundings constantly until they arrived, passing one last glance at Jimmy to check on him again that night before getting ready for sleep.

---

Ever since him and Jimmy chatted, the Harrier could tell his friend was feeling better. While there were no outwardly signs to attest to it, Jimmy's voice gave it away from how cheery it was. Behind his hood, the Harrier smiled at the change as he was sitting in Jimmy's shop the next Day.

When they got back after closing up early for Jimmy to prepare himself for the Mission, the Harrier took the time to offer a few words to the other Reapers despite how he felt conflicted about it. He wasn't entirely on board with chatting with them, but he supposed what he did hadn't hurt as it seemed to bring out a positive reaction from Nakai and Itoh. Sadorume, on the other hand, only sent a shrewd look to him at one point until he asked about how they slept lately. He hoped the gesture was polite enough as he spared them time, especially when they wanted to see him in the first place previously.

The Harrier did make note that Jimmy seemed happier when the Harrier had done that before leaving for Wall Duty.

Once he had enough from talking with the new tenants, the Harrier waited in the bedroom for Jimmy to come back, as the Day 1 Mission was starting out in the middle of the afternoon for some reason. He couldn't help but feel strange when he thought about the fact that Jimmy may have been lacking Points, as the thought came to him about how much longer it would be until he had to worry about his own Survival Capacity. And as much as he knew working on relations with the new tenants was important, he didn't feel safe about the idea of bringing up the topic with them and merely stayed in the room.

While he knew he shouldn't put off the issue entirely, it still got on his nerves about the what ifs. Heck, even after the whole fiasco with him dying a second time because he didn't want to confront it, it wasn't the one thing he was hoping to mull over today. If it was up to him, he would forget about it completely and not worry about his impending doom.

It should have been a cuff on the ear that he was neglecting his needs, but he knew it was easier to neglect than to force himself to do what made him repulsed. Would anyone want to stick a mouldy spoonful of rice into their mouths? No, that would be fucking stupid.

The Harrier shook his head at that disgusting comparison and gagged a little. No, he was wrong. Taking the lives of innocents was much worse than that. They didn't call it manslaughter in the Realground for nothing. However, that didn't excuse the fact that they had to do that here. Even as he tried to mentally run through the schematics the Reapers' Game, it didn't make him that eager to jump ship to prevent his Erasure.

He blinked in thought while he continued to lay on the bed and raised his hand, twiddling his fingers slowly as he observed them. They still maintained their paleness, a trait he had only gotten from not spending so much time outside when he was still alive. Sure, he helped unload produce and perishable food crates for the bodega, but his contact with the sun was minimal at best. And since they were still healthy looking, he supposed his confirmation was correct in the timeframe he had.

The Harrier didn't have to panic yet.

With a clench of his hand, he put it down and sat up. 'Less than a month away.' He pushed himself back to lean on the pillow with a sigh. 'At least I haven't started to crave Points yet again.'

A single hard pound on the door caused him to flinch. He whipped his head to the door as it opened abruptly.

"Could you knock next time!?" he retorted almost in a shout as he spun his body around to the edge of the bed as Andy came in, earning a frown from her as he then sighed, "I could've been not decent, Andy."

She immediately made a face and her shoulders sagged. "Nao herlao?"

"A person gets one if they waited for permission to enter," he told her with a roll of his eyes. He couldn't even hate how his good natured tone betrayed him.

"AI knaocked, dedn't aI?" she huffed with a smirk.

With amusement, he let out a chuckle and shook his head. "That wasn't a knock, that was a tap."

Slowly a grin started to stretch across her face; she put a hand on her hip as she chirped, "Werl…" She too rolled her amber-brown eyes before coming over to plop herself down beside him on the edge of the bed, placing her hands on her lap as she kicked her legs up and down. "Even if yaa weren't craothed, yaa haad eanaough time ta caover yaaserlf."

"Teh-" He turned away his head towards the headboard and patted the blankets . "Like I should slip under this like a child." He decided to not disclose the fact he had almost done that the last time she visited.

She snorted as her legs stilled, planting her feet on the carpet. That brought a smile to his face as he regarded her again, politely waiting for her input as he rested his hands over his lap.

He certainly missed this; not worrying about making Andy angry or the awkwardness of being around her. It made him feel glad they talked out their problems.

When a knock from faraway caught his attention, the Harrier at first turned his head forward then looked back at Andy. By now he wasn't too concerned about who it may have been, as it must have been Jimmy's friends trying to visit. But if it weren't Jimmy's friends, then the Harrier felt that as long as he didn't announce his presence, he shouldn't be in danger. At least, that's what the rational part of his mind told him.

Andy seemed to have the same idea, as she looked unfazed while he continued in a grumble, "But seriously, Andy, wait until I give you the okay to enter. I could have had my hood down." Her expression screwed up when he said that, but he paid little mind to it as he self-consciously adjusted said black hood.

From nearby he could hear Jimmy slightly from outside as the Harrier moved his hands back down, so the New Zealander must have just gotten home. He shook his head in disgruntlement. "I get that you're excited to see me and all… yet it really matters that you don't see my face."

"AI daon't gett eit," she said with a small huff, cocking her head soon after as she shrugged. "Yaa neverr waantt ta rlett eit daown, bautt yaa daon'tt tlaust meh enaouff ta keep meh rips zipped aahftarr ahrl thaatt we've been thlaough."

He settled his uncomfortableness to remain calm as he gazed at her. "Andy, it's no offence to you, but I don't want people in general to see my face." He narrowed his eyes pointedly. "We've been over this."

With a raspberry blown by her, she grimaced. "Eit caan'tt raook thaatt baad, caan eit?"

"That is not the issue, like I mentioned, so could you please drop it," he told her with a note of irritableness. He frowned promptly as he added sternly, "I'd rather not argue over a mundane topic- and it's not really that important for anyone if they know what I look like or not."

He squashed his inner anxiousness as best he could while he was speaking. But even so, it still felt like it was curdling, with his distress shooting through his blood.

Just as Andy was about to comment on the matter, a loud yell coursed through the walls, almost negating the fact it should have been muffled by the sheer volume alone, "WHO ARE THOSE REAPERS, JIMMY!?"

This time, instead of ignoring it, the Harrier's next words died in his throat as he flinched. He whipped his head towards the general direction of the noise, paling in pall from the unfamiliar voice as Andy hopped off the bed silently. She padded towards the door only to stop midway upon an actual muffled shout that sounded oddly like Jimmy...

The Harrier finally voiced his thoughts nervously, "...Shit."

Andy didn't respond to that, merely standing where she was in a cautious stillness as the muffled voices continued. The Harrier felt tempted to try another attempt at hiding underneath the bed again, just in case whatever that was was hostile for his sake. But upon hearing the hard slam of the front door and how none of the voices were stopping, the Harrier barely had time to process it as booming yells flooded through the house.

In actuality, they were thick with rage when he paid more mind to it. And in the Harrier's book, that was a clear sign for trouble.

With his stilted breath, the Harrier seemingly drew Andy's attention to him. The flash in her eyes told him enough, even before she told him it directly, "AI'rl see whaatt's aup."

Despite how he felt, on many occasions, that his curiosity more often than not drove him forth, he merely gave a quick nod.

Andy didn't hesitate to go afterward and opened the door loudly to slip out with it closing behind her all in a seamless sequence. She would be the centre of attention now, so that should cover the Harrier for a bit from being discovered.

The Harrier hung his head in the meantime and held the silent promise by not removing himself from his location, even if it was disturbing him that something worrisome was happening and he could only twiddle his thumbs because he wasn't adventurous enough to approach the situation himself. He couldn't even stop himself from breathing unsteadily as he wondered what could be going wrong and the fact he was powerless to stop it.

But as the minutes went on- no, before a full two minutes passed- the shouting and yells became practically constant and unyielding as they rose higher in volume. They were now loud enough for the Harrier to gain audience to being able to tell vaguely who was speaking when as Andy had joined in with the cluster of voices.

And eventually, they became clear enough for the Harrier to distinguish the words.

"...So you're the one who Processed the killer!?" came the first voice that penetrated through the walls. "What the hell is wrong with you!? She killed and you brought the killer straight to us and you let her in the house!? What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Lifting his head up fast as his eyes widened, the Harrier felt his breathing stop altogether as he realized that was one of Jimmy's friends.

"It's my grannyflat," came the barely audible response from Jimmy, though the Harrier couldn't discern the emotion in it. In fact, he couldn't even hear part of what Jimmy said before he managed to pick out more. "...Don't be anguses, she's my friend too!"

"And what about these three!?" joined in another male.

The Harrier felt his breathing quicken as it became apparent to him as for why they may have entered the home. Unlike himself, the three tenants weren't as conscientious about themselves, so they must have alerted their presence to Jimmy's friends, unknowingly causing this hassle to start.

"Last I checked, you've never been friends with them-" shouted the same speaker again. "What's your excuse for that!?"

"G-Guys…" The next voice had his breathing come to a stop. "Do we have to do this inside…?"

"Michito- Jimmy's been lying to us, lying to you!" said the first male's voice. It was thick with frustration and anger as he continued, "You said there was only his girlfriend!" Oh dear... maybe his silvertonguing for Michito wasn't the best course of action. The Harrier's eyes widened as the fact he inadvertantly brought them here reared its ugly head. "And yet all I see are strangers and the friend of Blackie stinking up the place!"

The Harrier grimaced. '...So they were telling the truth about my so-called nickname...' He didn't know how to feel about that at that moment.

"And what else has he been hiding!?" piped up the second friend's frustrated growl. "How long have they been here!? Who else may be here!?"

The Harrier felt as if he was petrified upon hearing the last remark. A gelid sensation was slithering down his spine as his throat dried up. 'Shit…'

"No one else is crashin' here," said Jimmy sternly. The Harrier felt his body release a sigh of relief involuntarily as Jimmy's tone remained firm as he added a bit quieter, causing the black-hooded Reaper to strain to hear it, "And the Barracks is fixed, so why does it matter if I let other blokes crash here?"

"You think they're more important than us then," accused one of the voices. "More important than your real friends…"

"Not even! You're not unimportant to me!"

"Then tell us why you've turned us away so many times these past few Weeks- why during Point gatherings you hardly talk to us like yourself anymore… It's like you're keeping secrets for no reason around us," said one of the voices quieter; sadder; frustrated. The emotions were understandable if the Harrier had to put himself in their shoes. "Friends don't do that to their friends, Jimmy, and we're tired of waiting for you to be ours."

The Harrier's eyes widened, frowning as silence fell over the previously viscerally vicious atmosphere. He almost felt like an intruder again to the conversation even though he wasn't a part of it, but listening to this made him feel as if it would have been better if he had tuned it out...

An immediate urge to race out of the room and explain everything came over him, as if that was the bandage needed to fix the situation. He already was on his feet, nearing the door, when he stopped at the next speaker's words.

"...Ever since you wanted us all to join Blackie's crusade, you've changed," said one of the friends, having lost their anger for absolute sadness. The Harrier's breath came out shakily as he frowned more. "We hardly know you anymore. It doesn't feel right to expect you to be the same, so were you pretending around us this whole time?"

"M-Mates…"

"Are we even friends, Jimmy? Were we even friends? We want to know."

The Harrier shook his head, bringing his hand over his mouth as his unstable breathing continued. He couldn't hear exactly what was being said next, but he knew he didn't have to because thoughts swirled around his head; thoughts affirming his suspicions.

He caused this. The Harrier caused this to happen. If he hadn't survived after fighting Sadist Saiyama, Jimmy wouldn't have found him and he wouldn't be having this conversation with his friends right now over the legitimacy of their friendship because Jimmy wouldn't have had a reason to turn them away in the first place.

His vision shook the longer he stared at the door, almost cowering at the sensations rolling through him as the urge to throw up overtook his control over himself. But upon the slam of the front door, he winced as he blinked in dumbfoundment. He was surprised he wasn't relieved they were gone, but he supposed after what he heard, there wasn't much use for it after all.

The Harrier's stomach still twisted as he finally had the courage to open the door, feeling as if he was moving on shaky limbs as he quietly turned to take in the other room from his position. However, he felt his body seize upon seeing Jimmy facing another Support Reaper when the sensation of movement told him that Support wasn't Nakai. He knew he should have slipped away before he was noticed, yet he could only watch sombrely in remorse as he noted how tense Jimmy's body was as he clenched his shaking hands.

He was pulled out of his subsumption of the scene when Andy's gaze sharply caught him; the burn making him perfectly aware of how quickly he had to work to hide himself. But he merely pressed his lips together, telling himself the damage was done and perhaps salvaging the situation could soften the blow it had.

...As stupid of him as it was he thought he could fix this.

Upon his approach being met with alarm from Andy and surprise from the tenants, Jimmy didn't seem to register the Harrier was there until the other standing Support's hood drifted to regard the Harrier. Jimmy didn't turn around to do the same thing, only keeping his head low as his friend spoke up in mystification, "Jim-san… is that…?"

Andy immediately rounded on the Harrier and hissed, "Whaatt aahrre yaa daoing-!?"

The Harrier didn't answer her, instead creeping forward until he shuffled to stand at the corner leading into the living room. He faced the Support properly, breathing out with a little shake of his head before he mumbled, "Don't blame Jimmy, Michito… He was only doing what he thought was the right thing."

Michito didn't seem to react to that, even though he should have. But the Harrier supposed the Support may have thought he knew him from before the failure of their plans, so the shock factor of his name drop ultimately seemed to be unrecoverable.

The red-hooded Reaper simply gazed at him easier and the Harrier started to worry his appearance was unnecessary after all. He waited for the Support to spout a torrent of anger and upset over being lied to blatantly, yet Michito merely kept staring until he breathed, "It is you."

In response, the Harrier nodded, trying to not let the awkward squirming in his chest break his barely stable composure as he regarded the other back. "Yeah. It's me." He resisted the urge to squeeze his nape when he next spoke with a frown, "I-I guess I might as well get the cat out of the bag before things get worse."

"Y-Yeah... that wasn't what I expected over returning keys," said Michito awkwardly in agreement to the Harrier's surprise. As the Harrier silently echoed 'keys' with his lips in confusion, a quick look from the Support was then given to Jimmy. "Nor finding out you're here after all…"

That made the Harrier pause in his coming response. He eyed Andy as her gaze widened, apparently sharing the same sentiment, before giving his attention back to Michito. "...After all?" he asked carefully.

Michito's eventual slow nod only made the Harrier blink in his disbelief. "A Week ago we joked that Jim-san was hiding you in his room because that's why Reapers can't find you, …and Jim-san didn't seem to find it funny." He then raised his hands up before the Harrier could inquire into it. "Don't worry, I don't think Joben or Haruo know or they would have tried to visit that Day."

Despite his askance that seemed to be too good to be true, the Harrier relented slightly as he raised an eyebrow critically. "That's too spot on, though."

The Support shrugged with a nervous laugh. "It was, wasn't it?"

That almost made the Harrier smile, in spite of what transpired minutes ago. And as if that thought was required, Jimmy finally spoke up; his dreary tone washing away the held pleasantry, "I… you're all good with him?"

As the Harrier tried to assess why the question felt off, Michito scratched the back of his hood as he replied, "Wh-Why wouldn't I be okay, Jim-san?" His deep timbred voice was uneasy, causing the Harrier to tense up, expecting the male to dash to the door; his good-nature being a deception. Although, instead of doing that, the Support kept his hood towards Jimmy as he now sounded confused. "Y-You had your reasons, right?"

From what the Harrier could spy on Jimmy's twisting expression, he could only watch as the New Zealander shook his head as his hands clenched. "So… so I didn't have to…" Without another word, Jimmy turned around to stomp off. The Harrier immediately spoke the Support's name in bewilderment, but the curly haired Reaper ignored him as he went straight past the Harrier and eventually entered the bathroom at the end of the hall as the Harrier trained his attention on the Support until the door slammed shut.

He swung back to Andy and the other standing Reaper, blinking with concern as he finally heard one of the tenants speak up, "...Michito, right?" Oh wait, that was Itoh. "You also were in favour of the Legalization?"

In spite of how an entirely new conversation started, the Harrier knitted his eyebrows as he looked back at the bathroom door in worry. 'Jimmy…'

---

The amount of time Jimmy stayed in the bathroom was worrying enough for the Harrier to eventually walk over with Andy to the door. They tried to talk to the Support, but all they got were what seemed to stomps and grunts that the Harrier could only imagine what they were for.

He shared a look with Andy eventually, frowning as he noted quietly, "Maybe he just needs time." The Harrier wouldn't blame the New Zealander after what happened. It bothered him that he freaked out over Reapers finding out he was here yet one of the ones Jimmy was trying to help hide him the most from was totally okay with it. Heck, he could have just revealed himself nearly a Week or so ago and Michito probably would have had the same reaction.

And on that note, the Harrier couldn't help but fume a little that he pretended to be a woman for nothing.

Andy simply gave a shrug with her arms. "Yaa staorlmed aoutt when wee gaave yaa time."

The Harrier sharply faced her and jabbed a finger in her face. "That was different!" He heaved out a hot huff and turned back to the door, "You were impatient."

While the wooden surface didn't particularly make him feel any less vexed about the topic being brought up, he inhaled to soothe himself in the meantime whilst training his eyes on it. It wasn't going to make Jimmy come out sooner, but he didn't want to pretend Jimmy wasn't upset. Yet as he waited, he felt that taking his own advice wouldn't be right either even though it wasn't like he could unlock the door himself.

He felt the sensation of Jimmy's movements jolt constantly as Andy once and awhile glanced at him. He didn't pay her attention nor did he give in to the urge to look back to the other Reapers in the home.

A part of him knew there was little else he could do right now, but he chose to ignore it.

Upon feeling a hand grasp his shoulder, he flinched as he grabbed the limb attached to it, whipping to Andy as her grip vanished while her amber-brown eyes portrayed their pain. He relented his hold to sigh, lowering his head as he mumbled, "I'm not... overthinking this, am I?"

Andy didn't answer him at first as she drew her arm back, grimacing as she gave another shrug but with her shoulders. "Caan'tt saay aI've seen yaa aahctt leike this befaolre."

With another sigh, he nodded while keeping his eyes to the ground. "Okay."

His friend merely grabbed his arm, to his uneasiness, and he let her tug him off through the hallway. "Aahrl aI'm saaying eis thaatt yaa staanding therre eisn'tt herlping..." The Harrier couldn't deny that comment hurt more than it should have. Once he was aware they were back in the living room, she added with a rise in her tone, "Sao why daon'tt wee maake yaawrrserlf tarlkee!?"

The Harrier raised his head to take in the fact that the whole room's attention was on him again. He raised a hand after Andy let go of his arm yet said nothing, frowning as his gaze landed on Michito.

He couldn't help but wonder if it was his imagination, but he could have sworn Michito hadn't looked at him. Instead, he felt as if Michito's gaze had been on him the whole time even before he got to the living room. That thought was enough for him to have already squeezed his neck without thinking about moving his hand as his skin crawled.

In response, Michito's concentration didn't falter.

...The Harrier wondered if it was too late to go back to the bathroom door.

As he grimaced and averted his gaze, he willed Michito to stop as he focused on Andy instead. Yet despite the distraction, his mind went back to the Support. He couldn't help but wonder why an average looking Support kept his attention because shouldn't it be easy to make your mind to not think about something you didn't want to think about? It was like he was being drawn to the Reaper like a moth to a flame for utterly no reason!

Inhaling sharply, pretending he hadn't been that loud, he clenched his eyes close as more gazes hit him. He was so confused.

He could have sworn he heard a violin in the room; it was as if it was coming from inside him... He couldn't explain where else it was coming from, nor could he explain why he was hearing a violin...

The Harrier flinched, taking a step back and found himself beside the hallway corner leading into the living room. Yet despite his initial panic, his confusion came back as he bewilderedly noticed how no one commented on his sudden movements. Instead, everyone was talking to each other as if he didn't do a single thing...

Frowning more, he couldn't help but look at Michito again as the Support's hood finally turned away after a few seconds. The Harrier blinked slowly before he turned his head back to the room. 'What... what was that?'

While he was on his own with his thoughts about the peculiar situation, the sound of a door opening made his attention snap to it.

He quickly turned his head to the sight of seeing Jimmy tread past him, his legs looking a little shaky as he drew into the kitchen to grab a cup from the cupboards. The black-hooded Reaper ignored the fact the lanky Reaper didn't offer a greeting as he felt himself sigh quietly in relief.

As Jimmy was pouring water into the cup at the sink, the Harrier called over to him, "I'm surprised you didn't use the bathroom's supply." He hoped that would ease the tension.

All he got back was Jimmy glancing at him before a smile lifted onto his lips. Although, the expression appeared to be bittersweet. The Harrier merely crossed his arms as the Support eventually leaned on the middle counter, beginning to sip away at his beverage while the Harrier tried not to worry his comment was hurtful as he glanced around at the others in the room.

Out of the rest of the Reapers in the room, Michito seemed to acknowledge the lanky Support as his hood remained on Jimmy. "I-I'm really sorry about not stopping them, Jim-san."

The copper haired Reaper's expression tightened. "She's all good, mate. Wasn't your fault you were keepin' a secret from 'em."

While the Harrier grimaced at that, Michito merely sighed sadly. For a second, it was as if the Support had more to say but chose to hold his tongue. At least, from how the Harrier read the cues, it seemed like it.

The Support simply kept staring at Jimmy until his gaze went back to the Harrier, unfortunately. It kind of made the black-hooded Reaper wish he knew what was so appealing about himself that Michito wanted to rudely keep his eyes on the Harrier. Or maybe, the Harrier supposed, failing a great expectation placed on you rewarded you that. The silent judgement of others as they wondered why you thought you were so important that they wanted to look up to you as you ultimately stomped their dreams apart with your ineptitude they should have seen a mile away...

He grimaced at that and brought his hand back into his hood to-

"Wait a minute!"

The Harrier first froze then yanked his arm out reluctantly in embarrassment when Michito breathed shakily, "Are you... " The Harrier blinked as he allowed himself to listen to the other as Michito soon asked intently, "D-Did you happen to know a Reaper named Honoka?"

Straightaway, the Harrier gave the Support Reaper his full-attention. "You know Honoka?" That was enough to send a clear message that the Harrier was shocked by this. But from the previous tones he heard, the Harrier could only frown back at the Support, tipping his head to one side as he waited on the other.

Upon receiving a nod from the red-hooded Reaper, the Harrier returned his head to normal then mused curiously in a more cool-spoken manner, "I don't suppose you're one of her friends, are you?" He didn't want to seem too rude about the Support Reaper's relations to her, so he hoped that was enough to make things easier on the both of them to start them both off on good terms for a palpable impression. ...Even if Michito was staring for too long earlier.

However, he couldn't help but feel like something was lost in translation, or he may have phrased his sentence wrong, because the other was rather tense, if he were to be frank.

"Uh, Bro?" Jimmy chimed in a subdued fashion. His tone alone only made the Harrier wonder what was the matter because it held an almost invisible awkwardness. "Honoka had been Michito's Game Partner." The Harrier would have accepted the answer if it weren't for how Jimmy cast an odd look towards Michito, who now had his hood lowered.

Now catching the hint that something seemed off, the Harrier furrowed his eyebrows as he studied the other more carefully. "Is… Are you okay?" he chose to ask instead of the choice of words he had been tempted to use, knowing that something was wrong and it would only be redundant to make note of it. Although, the Harrier couldn't help but feel unnerved about the idea of what could be the matter, especially when it seemed to be grouped with the conversation surrounding his familiarity with Honoka.

Michito's response was delayed for quite some time, as he constantly wetted his lips and appeared to be nibbling on them every so often, before he finally gave it. "I-I'm sorry."

"For… what?" intoned the Harrier curiously, almost feeling his lips lift into a quick smile before it wavered and broke.

With his head bowed, Michito inhaled deeply then exhaled solemnly, "She's gone."

For a heartbeat, the Harrier could only blink slowly as he took the new information in. He was aware of how the other Reapers in the room shifted or cast looks at each other, unsure of what could have been the cause for it, as he shortly crossed his arms.

"She left?" he soon came to ask, feeling himself bite his lip. "...Did she tell you-"

Michito shook his head roughly. "No, no… Honoka's gone."

The Harrier was becoming aware of how an odd sensation stirred in his chest, each exhale making it worse as his gaze even lost its focus momentarily. He blinked quickly, frowning now as he stared longer at the other Reaper.

Michito didn't change how he held himself in front of the room, showcasing nothing but how he refused to look at anyone and his shoulders appeared rigid. As he observed this, the Harrier couldn't help but find it was somewhat difficult for himself to breathe, as he soon half-closed his eyes and drew in a shallow yet quick intake of air.

Throughout the silence in the room, the Harrier couldn't help but feel his mind was going blank, all except for how it held the knowledge that stuck hard on the forefront of his thoughts. He rolled it around, trying to make sense of it, until it posed not much of a further challenge to decipher. And when he had, he wasn't sure when he had been on the verge of crying or the need to want to cry. Yet he found that it was impossible to because it was seemingly clogged somehow by something.

The first thing he did after waffling through the sensations was focus on Michito again as he asked, "Wh-When did it happen?" He was aware of how his voice was shaking, wondering if his body was doing the same thing as he went on with an audible crack coming from his tone now, "H-How?"

As he stood with himself as an uncomfortable wave of dole rolled over him, feeling his arms tighten around himself almost unconsciously, he almost hadn't heard Michito. "It happened a few Days ago, after her run-in with the Conductor."

"Wh-What do you mean?" he croaked out as his dismay slowly rolled out, inhaling harshly as he continued to not rip his eyes off of the other as his chest continued to ache. "What does that have to do with-" He stopped himself when he realized he raised his voice as all the ugly emotions he held inside himself threatened to spill out.

He went back to breathing and concentrated on it solely for his distraction as he became more and more aware of how he shouldn't be ready to freak out right now. He was torn between not caring about letting the room know perfectly well how he felt and wanting to squash it and process it at a later time. But he knew wholly that he couldn't bring himself to remove himself from the situation; almost feeling as if he was paralyzed to the spot until something made more sense than what he had just been informed about.

"I-I don't know why it happened, or what she was even thinking-" The Harrier blinked as he choked on his unsteady breathing, when he focused on the other Reaper again as he finally lifted his hood up to the Harrier. "B-But all I know is that she was trying to walk past the Conductor in the middle of a meeting with the Officer Reapers in the Lounge, and he didn't hesitate to lecture her about trying to sneak into some place sh-she didn't belong. ...Then she got into an argument with him."

The Harrier only gazed at Michito half with appall and half with exasperation that he was getting sidetracked from what was truly important. The black-hooded Reaper opened his mouth with the knowledge he was almost ready to scream for the Support to stop when Michito's pause ended. "I-I know she was supposed to be suspended from her duties for a short time, but she never… sh-she never came out." His voice came out as a croak in the last few seconds.

"Did she…?" Jimmy's voice tapered off, leaving the Harrier dying for Michito's answer. However, he realized the other wasn't going to answer that when it had already been said previously.

It made the Harrier's throat dry over from what may have been the cause, but he gripped the thought tightly as he couldn't help but feel sick to his stomach. He only needed confirmation over whether or not he guessed correctly, or had to sit with the fact that he would be left in the dark about the horrid fate of Honoka.

The Harrier promptly picked up from where Jimmy left off. "D-Did she 'Starve'?" He threw an unseeing glance around him, the details of the Reapers lost to him as he asked frantically, "H-How was she not able to acquire enough Points in time!?"

"She should have been able to," mentioned Sadorume sullenly. "But I wouldn't be surprised if Reapers have been hogging the Players to themselves." She shifted her hood to him as she added a little softer, "The last time we were out there, Reaper activity hasn't dwindled thanks to the Player Killer's 'generosity'."

The Harrier wavered briefly after he drank that in, feeling his face contort as he stared back at her upsetly. "It isn't generosity..."

Sadorume gave a shrug as she sighed, "Tell that to the other Reapers. I'm sure they're happy about the deaths."

Itoh merely crossed his arms tightly as he gruffly put in, "Doesn't give the Player Killer any redeeming qualities. If Reapers are still not getting enough to last in the Underground..."

The rest of his words were lost to the Harrier as he shakily breathed. Even though the Harrier swore he didn't want to get emotional right now, each passing second of dwelling over this made it all the more impossible to achieve that. He felt lightheaded, woozy even, as he was practically crushing himself with his arms, his grip so painfully hard that he could nearly feel his bones from under his skin being pushed towards each other.

His thoughts ultimately were running rampant with recalling every detail of his last exchange with Honoka, trying to pluck out any detail that suggested her state of wellness wasn't far off from horrible self-neglect. But he fought with the idea that she was neglecting herself if she had been Starved of the very things needed to ensure she wouldn't-

Pushing out a ragged gust from his exhale, he screwed his eyes shut as he shook his head. "I-It doesn't make sense." As he felt all of the room's eyes turn to him, he very much felt pinned to the spot and more nauseous than he had been feeling earlier. "She shouldn't have that happening to her- She wasn't showing the signs-" He was breathless with each of his attempts to speak, leaving him dazed, dizzy and panicked as he added desperately in a near sob he managed to pull back in time before it even left his throat, "The Posh Bastard…" He bit his lip sharply. "I-I know he wouldn't-"

...What did he know about that primly dressed man? He was never not at odds with him, so why did the Harrier think there was some convenient explanation of a reason he could supply to dispel the inaccuracies of the dispute?

When he hung his head, giving up for the sake of not fumbling about in front of everyone to make a further fool of himself, he dug his teeth deeper into his lower lip. 'H-Honoka… wh-why?'

Around him he knew the other Reapers were sharing wordless messages with each other, lost to him as he didn't particularly care about the specifics as he merely turned away. He forced himself to trudge forward as it was all he could manage to do to take himself away from this horrible situation. He couldn't even hear a single thing, he found; feeling himself wobble on his feet each time he one placed down; taking too long to unwrap his arms from his shaking body just so he could fling open the door to Jimmy's room enough to shoulder himself the rest of the way in. And once he had, he fell onto the bed to lie there.

He wasn't sure how long he remained like that, but he knew the time didn't matter to him. Not when it was happening all over again in his head.

---

When it came that the Harrier was alert of what was going on around him again, it came in the form of a weight causing the bed's mattress to sink, pulling him towards it despite the resistance the position of his body had. It didn't take long for him to deduce who his visitant may have been as he drew out a heavy sigh, "What is it…?"

Andy huffed half-heartedly from where she sat on the edge of the bed, "Stirl haaving aah raough time?"

He nearly scoffed, his response nothing short of a lame exhale that pushed against and was muffled by the mattress, "It's hard to feel crummy at this point."

"Yaa feerl clummee?" she breathed thoughtfully.

"If I felt crummy, it would make the loss hurt less," he clarified half-heartedly as he closed his eyes, feeling them lick and nearly get caught by the blanket. He frowned afterward, his eyes aching even though they hadn't shed a single drop of misery that still remained blocked in them.

It was like he was supposed to cry, but his body already had cried. It left him nothing but the understanding that he could cry yet it would only come out dry; all the while of having the phantom feeling of having undergone the forgone crying.

The moment he felt his companion's hand start to touch his upper limb, he didn't even have the energy to react. He merely laid still, as the hand rested on his forearm, as if it was waiting for him to react before Andy eventually started to rub slightly on it. And yet that didn't do anything for him but divert his attention briefly before Andy's voice captured the other half of it. "Haow rlaong ded yaa knaow herr?"

"A terribly short number and length of chance meetings..." he supplied blandly with another sigh. "But enough to know that she was too good for Erasure."

Andy's hand's ministrations ceased. "Bautt enaough ta lreaave yaa feerling clummee."

All the Harrier could do was breathe out again, not offering anything else but that as he opened his eyes to the dim exposure of light he had. He wasn't sure if Andy would take that as a sign to leave, seeing as she hadn't, but he kind of wished he knew what to say to drive her off for a bit. While he could appreciate the fact that she came to check up on him, he also felt that it wasn't necessary. He just needed more time to think about it so he could try to work past the grief he was noticeably aware of…

"Eit's funnee," the dirty blonde suddenly said with a feeble chuckle. He could imagine that she was shaking her head as she still left her hand on him, as if that was her way of telling him she wasn't going anytime soon. And that was enough to make him laugh, but not in the way it was appropriate. "Thaatt we'rre aahcting leike she died." She then paused, as though she intentionally said that to test the waters with him about the subject, before she continued softly, "Eisn'tt eit sclewed aup?"

"Quite so." He shrugged dismally with disinterest, hoping that was enough to send a message for her to stop. Unfortunately, such wasn't the case.

"Daoes eit herlp thaatt yaa ahrlmaost died?" she then asked steadily. Didn't they talk about not talking about that!?

"...What's your point," he grumbled in annoyance.

Andy didn't reply right away, but when she did, she patted his arm after raising her hand away from it. "Eif… eif the Caounductarr rleaalree ded caause herr Erlaasurre… waourldn't eit be baad faorl him?"

The Harrier blinked slowly, feeling his expression screw up quizzically. "...Why are you interested in that?"

Andy made a small whistling sound after his question and her legs shifted, probably kicking off from the ground to dangle. It only made him wonder if she was prolonging her answer or trying to get more of his attention.

"Meh aahnd the eotherr Rleaaperrs flaom befaorre werre thinking…" She paused for a bit again then added curtly, "Haow messed aup eit's been since yaa ahrlmaost waas Erlaased by him." The Harrier felt his thought sober a little as he allowed himself to focus on Andy more, frowning as he lent his ears to her. "Rletting thaatt sheitt ein aahnd daoing naothing aahbaoutt eit, rletting thaatt girrl faade aahwaay…" She gave a huff before she growled, "Whirle ein the middrle aof stirl maaking Leaaperrs seaarrch faorl yaa."

The Harrier exhaled through his nose before twisting his head, despite the lack of range of motion he had to see her fully, and blinked slowly with a deeper frown. "He's been stupider than usual." He heard Andy squawk in agreement before he grimly mused more, "But what are we supposed to do about it?" He lowered his gaze slightly. "It's not like our words will ever reach him, or that he thinks he's doing harm to anyone… The Composer's the only one above him and there still hasn't been any changes whatsoever-"

"Exaahcttree!" Andy spat sharply. The Harrier blinked as he heard her go on, "Aahnd therre wirl neverr be aahnee changes!"

"If there's no way to change anything and you're upset about the lack of said changes, what do you want me to do about it?" he asked dully.

Andy's hand was withdrawn from his arm and he watched, with the limited viewpoint he had, as she clenched them on her lap. "AI'm sick aof aahrl this sheitt…" Her hands were trembling. "AI feerl leike aI'm suffaocaating…!" While he furrowed his eyebrows as he mulled over what she was telling him, a growl of aggravation happened in her throat before she abruptly stood up.

As she stalked away from the bed, swerving to turn back to him as he could now see her entire body, she had a cold look in her eyes she jabbed a finger at him. "Taomaorrlaow… daon'tt terl aahneeaone wherre aI'rl be," she spoke curtly and lowly.

The Harrier drew his body to roll over onto his left side, propping his arms to keep himself up as he gazed at her in confusion. "Wait, you're staying here tonight?" As she gave a big, wordless nod, he frowned as he then asked quizzically, "But why do you want me to cover for you then? You have free-rein over your own decisions."

"AI knaow thaatt," she told him aloofly; her amber-brown eyes becoming slits as she turned her gaze away. She tsked in a lower tone, "AI jaustt haave saome kirls ta gett."

"Still doesn't answer my question…" he quietly said as he weakly gave her a pointed look, not that she would see it. "But more power to you, I guess." He shrugged as he settled back onto the bed. "It's just not hard to tell what you're doing, so why so secretive?"

Andy gave him a long look as she wetted her lips, soon angling her head at various rotations before she breathed plainly, "Thaose aotherr Leaaperrs daon'tt dao eitt, sao aI daon'tt waantt them ta blraab aon meh."

"Right... like the rest of the Vulture population don't know when to steer clear of your kills." The Harrier slowly nodded at that but still held his frown. "But be serious with me for a second."

When she sighed out heavily in annoyance with a roll of her eyes, he then raised an eyebrow at her. "I know you're planning something." He quickly lowered his head and sighed sadly, "Just- please be careful out there… whatever you're doing."

While her lips puckered in her crestfallen pout, she shook her head. "Yaa maake eitt saound leike this eis the raast time we'rl bee tarlking."

His face screwed up painfully. "This is just coming from a friend, mind you, who is thinking of you. Is it that difficult to understand I care? Especially after I lost another person in my li-existence recently?" He glumly hung his head as he mumbled out, "Just call me clingy for all you want. For all I know, Jimmy will be telling me next your Soul particles sailed away in the wind, and I never had a chance to…"

Swallowing hard as he tapered off, he clenched his eyes closed tightly. "J-Just come back, Andy- F-For me, please."

As his chest strained on him, leaving him flailing for his next few breaths, he continued to keep his head down until something darkened his shut vision more. He whipped his body up in alarm only to calm down after yanking mustard off his head, blinking bemusedly at Andy's hoodie then her as she stood in her pale green tank-top with a hand on her jutted hip.

Holding the hoodie up slightly, proceeding to adjust his sitting, he made a face at her until she threw her head to shake it once. "Taake caarre aof eit." Her fingers rapped along the dark green fabric of her cargo pants before she added smugly, "AI waant ta spice things aup faorl aah chaange."

"O...kay?" he murmured out bewilderedly as he reluctantly nodded. He turned his gaze to her hoodie as he then sighed, "But the Posh Bastard will skin you for your 'insolence', you know."

Andy had a foul emotion pass through her features before she grinned wolfishly as she leaned forward. "Aahrl the bettarr."

The Harrier smiled small in light of that but eventually frowned again as he lowered the mustard bundle onto his lap. "It feels weird… knowing that you're going out there without me." As his hands found themselves resting on her hoodie, he blinked as he breathed in an uneasy chuckle, "I shouldn't feel like I'm being left behind, but I guess that's how it is."

"AI prlaomise ta blring baack aah paostcaarrd," Andy chirped cheekily, almost allowing for a smile to return to him but he sombrely stared at her instead. She strode towards him, soon losing her enthusiasm as she quirked an eyebrow at him. "Wirl yaa bee aahrlightt?"

He grimaced as he gathered up hoodie fabric into his hands, to at least comfort himself in the face of her concern. "...Depends."

For a second, he realized she was bending over, but when one of her hands fell over his left, he blinked as an uncomfortable shiver passed through him. However, the gentle croak of her tenor voice negated part of his unease, "Things wirl gett bettarr saoon."

The Harrier nodded thickly, watching as she reached her full height again to stretch while her gaze was firmly set on him. Then she wordlessly left the room, her pale green tank-top being the last thing he saw until the door had closed.

After sitting in the room for a few minutes, the Harrier eventually let his hands curl into the stained hoodie fabric. He wasn't certain what to do now that Andy gave him her uniform garb, so he merely shoved it between the wall and the pillow before sighing out. 'There we go... a fitting place for an abominable colour.'

It rather stuck out with the Support hoodie in the paleness of the room; he couldn't exactly say that the vibrancy amongst the clinicalness was helping to raise his mood.

He pulled his body back to face the barren side of the room as he frowned to himself, clasping his empty hands together. 'Excuse to see me or not, that didn't do me any wonders...' He didn't adjust his posture as he thought on wearily, 'But I guess that's her best when she isn't shoving rifles in people's faces or carting me to kissatens...'

Although, it did make him nervous. Even though he knew he wasn't technically a part of Reaper society anymore, if his reluctance to go back to the status quo was enough evidence, he could finally reflect on his concerns regarding Andy's blatant decision now that she wasn't here. It made him curious whether or not her intentions were to give him solace for Honoka's Erasure or if that was just a precursor to her intentions she just revealed to him, but it didn't bother him as much as it did that he knew she was going off without him.

It was odd, how ever since him and Andy came to their understanding of each other's current state of their moral compasses, he was left with a burning question about how things were going to be for the both of them. Despite how Andy reassured him that their status as friends was going to stay the same, he couldn't not feel as if there couldn't be much to it than that. They were pretty much Yin and Yang now, yet they only came together out of the reason that they were supposedly supposed to be together out of name alone.

Even now, with her promise that she was going to hunt down Wrongdoers, he couldn't help but feel they were out of sync. As though they were a toy that was falling apart but they stayed together enough to be a wonky moving monstrosity, that refused to break apart because it knew it was supposed to stay together. Of all the further examples he could list in his head, he knew he was pretty much nonexistent most likely in their future.

He let himself twist to flop back on to his stomach as he crawled over to the pillow, placing his face half on it as he frowned. 'Resolved arguments between friends are like this, right?' He blinked gradually as he silently sighed. 'It'll feel normal again eventually and I'm silly for thinking it doesn't feel right for the moment when it's completely normal for this to happen.'

Half-closing his eyes as he let that matter leave his mind for the time being, he felt his thoughts being drawn back to Honoka. With Andy occupying his concentration previously, he couldn't help but feel glum now that she had put into perspective of what he may have been feeling. Especially when the Conductor was involved with-

Stopping his ponder, he couldn't help but feel like he tasted something bitter almost. He didn't want to dwell on why the Posh Bastard was once again the fool to think his disciplinary actions had any merit of being appropriate when he knowingly caused an Erasure over something so trivial…

He blinked absently for a moment, soon frowning as he retraced steps in that last thought, rolling it around in his head as an odd feeling rose up in his chest.

Why would the Posh Bastard stoop to allowing a Reaper of good standing such a harsh punishment? The Harrier knew if he were in Honoka's shoes, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary…

And yet, he couldn't help but inhale shakily as he closed his eyes uneasily.

Why hadn't there been more of a focus on the fact that the Posh Bastard let Honoka fade from the rest of the Reapers? He could understand why Officers wouldn't meddle with the Posh Bastard's judgement, but why wasn't there outrage or knowledge that the man allowed for an unnecessary Erasure to happen?

Or was the man so high-strung about getting the Harrier to him that he wouldn't tidy his hands of the technical blood he had on them?

His gut was protesting furiously after that thought and his chest felt off still.

---

The next time the Harrier awoke he didn't even bother to get out of bed. At least, he felt he didn't have the mental energy to force himself to his feet. He could only stare at the ceiling absently until he faintly realized the door was open and the light footfalls on the carpet belonged to Jimmy.

He merely didn't offer any acknowledgement to the presence of the other, who was closing the door slowly. He blinked slightly until gravity started to pull his body towards his sighing friend. "Gidday, Bro… Still feelin' trashy?"

The Harrier couldn't help but grunt a little, wishing he could have kept his eyes closed instead of having this discussion. After his previous talk, he felt that any conversation going forth would be about Honoka and only Honoka until someone magically had the idea to move on from the momentous crap thrust upon them. And to be frank, he didn't want to think about the one thing gnawing on his goddamn mind.

Although, he did know it would be rude of him to ignore Jimmy and be an asshole about something he couldn't stop from occurring… as much as he wished he had.

With an inhale, he decided to wait for Jimmy to talk instead of him, yet the other merely sat nearby him silently. In fact, with a closer look, he could tell from the way Jimmy hung his head and clenched his hands on his lap… the Harrier may not have been the only one suffering the loss.

Upon recalling how the other mentioned he knew of Honoka, it suddenly brought out a surge of desperation in the Harrier as he found himself blurting out tactlessly, "So you met Honoka, right?"

Despite the dulled sense of mortification his filter couldn't have stopped him in time, that seemed to knock Jimmy out of his thoughts. The lanky Reaper blinked several times after a start. "N-Nah… yeah." He then frowned almost uncomfortably before gazing at the Harrier with more concentration. "'Course I have."

With a small hum as uneasiness waved through him, the Harrier hesitated before voicing his next thought, "It's… it's kind of weird how it never crossed into our conversations before, huh?"

His titter merely made Jimmy's frown deepen as he soon sighed, "Bro… you don't have to yack 'bout this if you need more time." A small, sad smile crept onto his lips then. "I know how much it had you shook yesterday."

That caused the Harrier to frown as he opened his mouth again but closed it almost promptly, feeling his eyebrows furrow until he managed to do a nod against the pillow. He simply rested his hands on his stomach as he studied the other as the Support's expression became neutral.

"Sorry, Bro, I only came in here to have a clearer head 'bout the whole thin' myself," said Jimmy apologetically as his hands uncurled, now flat on his legs as he blinked slowly. "I didn't mean to get your hopes up for a yack if that's what you wanted…"

"No, no…" The Harrier rotated his head in a semblance of shaking it before he mumbled sadly, "I think the news is screwing with my head, so don't expect anything coherent from me until this blows over…"

Except, it wouldn't. How could the knowledge of a technical death be that easy to get over? He could advocate for it from witnessing it first-hand when his father…

As his thoughts came to a screeching halt, his breath hitched sharply as it became unsteady. He desperately shoved back the unpleasant recollection as he focused on Jimmy again, trying to pretend he wasn't on the verge of tears as Jimmy seemed to somehow detect the change in the Harrier's demeanour almost immediately.

As now alert eyes were on him, burning him as the Harrier attempted to bring himself out of his sudden panic attack, the black-hooded Reaper felt a shudder go through him as he gasped out, "I-I'm just a mess- are you going to open shop- how's your next art piece?"

Jimmy looked pretty concerned after the words flowed out from the Harrier's mouth, so the Harrier merely held his head and flipped himself over to face the wall as the spasmic energy inside him unfurled into his stomach, making him feel nauseous as he grasped for the means to recentre himself properly without making himself out to be a fool in front of Jimmy when he could hardly have a handle on how he was feeling-

With more of a gulp for air than an actual inhale needed, the Harrier merely left his head still in place as he fought against the warmth behind his eyes fervently.

'Why the fuck can't you conduct yourself like you should?' He clenched his eyes shut as a scream threatened to unleash itself despite how hard he fought to keep it trapped in his throat. 'You've dealt with this before, so why can't it be easier to get over it!?'

"...I never knew Honoka well."

As if that was the key to driving everything from screwing with the Harrier, the black-hooded Reaper blinked in a daze at the information. "Wh-What?"

"I never knew Honoka well." The Harrier nearly rolled himself back to see Jimmy but the next words further caused his mind to spiral. "I wish I did… it would make talkin' to you 'bout it less of a mare." While the Harrier silently tried to dwell on what Jimmy was telling him, the other continued sombrely, "I think I hadn't 'cause Michito never was keen as on bringin' her over for yacks, but that doesn't 'cuse me from not feelin' bad she's gone. It's ratshit she is, though."

Wishing that he had some way to comment on it, the Harrier silently drank in the confession as his mouth suddenly felt dry. His throat was aching almost from his nonexistent dehydration as Jimmy sighed again, "And after what happened with Joben and Haruo, it's not like I could make amends and see what they have to say right now. They're not goin' to hear me out after our mess of an argument! And Michito's gapped it to who knows where after you popped away… but I didn't want to press him after knowin' someone close to him is now gone. Especially after…"

Jimmy's face grimaced before he finished, "Especially after how she'd never do somethin' like that."

The ponder the Harrier was on stopped; he couldn't help but feel like he tasted something bitter again. 'Wh-What...?'

"I don't know her well, but I'd never took her as someone who'd try to pop past the Lounge," said Jimmy. His voice quickly became the only audible noise in the Harrier's head as he continued, "There's nothin' past there but the piss I keep hearin' 'bout." His tone became quizzical. "And you can buy piss in any dairy in Shibuya..."

As the Harrier blinked rapidly, soaking more of the information in, he couldn't help but find it hard to breathe as Jimmy's words faded into incoherency. 'There's nothing past the Lounge but the alcohol...'

"B-But all I know is that she was trying to walk past the Conductor in the middle of a meeting with the Officer Reapers in the Lounge, and he didn't hesitate to lecture her about trying to sneak into some place sh-she didn't belong."

The Harrier's eyes remained open as his vision shook, his lips feeling chapped as his mouth remained open. 'Yet there is a place past the Lounge...' His body felt like it was being weighed down as he his head began to whirl. 'The Conductor left the Lounge when we delivered our proposal, but he never walked into any hallways or anything... ...Unless it's only a place he could go, but why would she want to...'

"I-I know she was supposed to be suspended from her duties for a short time, but she never… sh-she never came out."

Why would a Reaper get suspended if all they did was walk past the Lounge? He knew he should respect that was how it went down, but the phrasing just seemed entirely off, now that he thought about it. Something still didn't make sense about that for some odd reason even though he had been told the barebone facts upfront. Yet a part of his mind refused it, as his current knowledge cried out in argument against what was put into his head.

It was like an internal battle was going on, whether or not the facts made sense or if he should be overthinking the whole thing.

Going past the Lounge... Getting into an argument... Having her duties suspended... Just reflecting on the given information made him feel almost as if it sounded ridiculous now; it nearly made him think Michito was lying about the whole thing...

Feeling every part of him twitch upon thinking that, he felt his body brace itself even before his mind was filled with more alertness than he's ever felt since he was given the news. His chest swelled painfully as he inhaled deeply, feeling his mind race as he widened his eyes.

What if Michito was lying?

He frowned deeply as that idea solidified in his mind, stretching more and more until it encapsulated every part of every thought that continued to rain through it. It was a hopeful wistfulness, he felt, that he was conjuring this up when it was clear that Michito was obviously still grieving over his lost Partner. But the way he went about explaining the circumstances almost made the Harrier believe that hopeful wistfulness that she was actually existing still even though it was a flimsy ideation at best.

And yet, it all came down to the only question that soon formed in regards to his suspicions: But why? Why was there a need to lie? Why was there any reason to lie? And why would you even lie about what happened, especially when you knew how it happened?

...Unless Michito didn't know what happened.

As he drew his lips together, feeling his gaze harden as he stared at the wall, he soon clenched his hands.

Jimmy was still talking, but at this point, the Harrier was no longer listening. He made no indication he wanted part of the discussion anymore, but what little he did register...

Was the mustard hoodie wedged unceremoniously beside his pillow and the wall.

---

The next Day, after sneaking out of Jimmy's home undetected in the earliest hours before the Mission of the Day started, the Harrier had to say things were going as planned.

But he had to say it wasn't easy. Not when he had to convince himself to put the stained hoodie on.

Keeping to the sidewalks as nonchalantly as possible, ignoring the fact he was trying not to gag over part of his ensemble that wasn't his Scampers, he had to say he must have struck the look of an average Harrier Reaper perfectly, even without the wings. It felt odd being dressed up like this, especially when he wasn't actually going to do the part of a Harrier. But it somewhat led him to believe that time had gone backwards and he was now back in the shoes of himself when he was the newly trained Harrier.

It was almost thrilling to some extent, strangely enough.

But at the same time too… he couldn't be more on edge as he once and awhile cast wary glances over his shoulder, constantly surveying his location and surroundings and anyone who was in his vicinity. He knew he was potentially, positively in the midst of blowing his cover and knowledge of his being by being out here like this, even though the thought of how he was on his own mission had almost made him forget about that fact. But he also knew as long as he played it safe and kept his distance from anything and anyone… he had a fair chance of getting out of this perilous risk without much of a mark on him.

He knew how Harriers acted, if knowing he was one wasn't enough to convince himself that he could pull this off without repercussions. Therefore, blending in should be a cinch as long as he didn't act out of line for once.

The mustard-hooded Reaper didn't know if it was luck or if Andy knew he was going to go undercover was the reason why she took off her hoodie, but he knew for damn certain that the Posh Bastard wasn't going to be pleased with how she practically rejected the uniform she was given. Or how she never got his golden seal of approval for her 'alternative Harrier duds', to put it lightly. But nonetheless, this was godsent and he wasn't going to let the opportunity go.

He just hoped Andy wasn't going to be unhappy that he 'burrowed' her hoodie. ...Mainly if she found out, that is.

The further along the Harrier got, the more he let himself concentrate on what the other Reapers, that he pulled himself into crowds of, were saying. He knew based on the conversations the Reapers now staying at Jimmy's place had, they had made it obvious that the Player Killer was still kicking, probably slapped himself to an unknowing Player who he hadn't killed himself most likely. That was an obstacle he had to avoid; it wasn't in his intentions to encounter him again nor risk having Andy recognize him. The Harrier was merely here to find the ones he sought to find, and as soon as he got what he came for, he'll slip away and go back when the coast was clear for him.

He racked his brain and strained his ears for the voices he sought to locate, knowing that with how each of Jimmy's friends stuck to protocol for their duds, it was in his interest to keep his eyes peeled to recognize their voices quickly. Then came the matter of what he'll do to camouflage his voice… which wouldn't be hard as long as he modulated it correctly as he had with Michito that one time.

But definitely not another female imitation… Oh no, no, no… he knew upfront he wouldn't be able to pull it off and he very much didn't have the build of a woman to prove it. He'll just have to try something deeper or higher than his normal register...

Being that Jimmy knew about Honoka being Michito's Partner… it wasn't hard for him to assume the same could be said about Jimmy's friends. Michito must have introduced her to them at some point, and they may have been the friends Honoka mentioned she was going to see from the second time he'd spoken to her, so it was a no-brainer that they could give him the straight facts. But he had to be cautious and careful… Jimmy and them pretty much burned bridges with each other yesterday, so it was going to be a touchy topic he had to make sure to avoid.

Yet he had to find them first, he reminded himself again. No sense in looking forward, or in his case, not into something that wasn't certain. If he came out empty-handed, then it was certain that Jimmy wasn't going to let the Harrier slip out again so easily… He just hoped Jimmy didn't take offence to the note he kindly left at the last minute.

As his thoughts were punctured by the various conversations flowing around him, he regarded each of them with interest even though he knew he shouldn't. As fleeting as though in passing, it was almost the only thing he could cling to as he searched and picked apart and sifted through their voices from one another.

"Will that Player try another stunt like that again?"

"I just want to pummel that guy into the ground- I don't care about what the Conductor said!"

"The Conductor has to be right about this… r-right?"

"That Player is only going to encourage the other Players to attack us!"

"Did you hear that killer nearly Erased a Reaper yesterday?"

"No splitting up today! I don't want either of you to be alone with a lunatic on the loose!"

"At this rate, the Player will only survive the Week! Getting stronger, and stronger, and stronger until he'll be here every Round from now on!"

"Ugh, I have to just get one Player down and then I'll have nothing to worry about! I can do this!"

"He should have just been left dead, or left to rot in Stasis!"

The Harrier eventually came to a stop when there were scarcely any Reapers nearby him, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he released a slow sigh. 'Still nothing…' He let his gaze travel slightly to check the corners of his vision, just to be sure he wasn't being followed, before he thought on dismally, 'If I can't find them soon, I might have better chances of running into the Players themselves. I suppose I'll just have to give it five-to-ten more minutes before I loop back-'

As he blinked when a new idea came to mind, he held onto it for some time then furrowed his eyebrows. 'Did Jimmy mention anywhere that they liked to hang out?' He pursed his lips. 'I should have at least been given something at one point…'

Letting his eyes draw shut, he mulled over what he could remember from the past conversations he had with the Support Reaper, feeling his heart beating mutely in the background of his awareness. He had to wonder if his ability to think deeply was rusty because he could only remain standing where he was for so long until he finally gave it a rest.

If he hardly had information, it wasn't like it was going to be given to him because he needed it right now. The universe hated him, after all.

So with another sigh, he shook his head. 'The best I can do is follow the herd and hope they're out assisting the Vultures today… Even if it is a dangerous venture.'

He only had so much time before the Walls were created, so if he didn't want to get caught up with having to speak with Reapers more than needed to, he should probably get going. There was always a chance that they were going to go Player Hunting today, seeing as this was now an opportune time to do so. Even with his gripes about how previous Players were being forced to play again because of that Player Killer, he knew this technically could count as both a 'busy season' and a prime time to blend in with the crowds who were set on being on the wagon for said busy season.

When he started walking again, he tried to shift closer to the Harriers, hoping that being seen with them could enact enough camouflage to prevent his exposure to the ones who may have ideas for what they may do if they found him. Even with the 'reassurance' he got from those visitors from last night, he didn't want to believe he was safe from being shown to the Conductor. Not only that, he knew from his generated number of haters after the Yellow Noise 'invasion', he pretty much gave them a reason to fork him over without question. At the very least, it was very much not reassuring to know that one misstep now could end his capture point blank, but he didn't want to cast off this venture without finding what he came for.

It was stupid, really… He knew it was insane that he was going through with this, but despite knowing how badly this may turn out for him, he didn't really care unless he got to the bottom of Honoka's fate. With Michito lying about what happened… she didn't deserve that. It was disrespectful that the truth was being brushed aside neatly into a corner and nudged under a rug like she didn't matter; like Michito didn't care about her. Nonetheless, despite how he knew Michito was shaken by the events, he didn't want to just let things be because Michito didn't want to tell it to the Harrier straight.

While he knew he could have just asked Jimmy about it, he felt that Jimmy would only talk about it with Michito or think ill of the Harrier misjudging Michito's testimony… It would only make things awkward with Jimmy; the Harrier felt that was the best way he could put it.

But as for Michito and Jimmy's other friends, the Harrier had a hunch that they weren't so well off with Jimmy or Michito, from what the Harrier grabbed from the conversation and argument they had with the New Zealander. They may have less of a bias to him if the Harrier presented himself as an unassuming stranger who had no connection whatsoever with Honoka or the other Support Reapers they knew. He just had to be very careful when setting up the path towards gaining access to said topic when the time came to initiate the chat.

---

The Harrier was lucky that he arrived when he had because he saw the signs that the Support Reapers were prepared to throw up their Walls, so he quickly sped past the one who had their Keypin out just before he heard the diamond-imbued Wall surface from behind himself. He didn't cast a look back, instead taking in from where he was how the Mission appeared to be starting in Spain Hill for today from the bodies he spotted from afar. And with his lacktherefore of wings… that meant until the Mission was finished, he was going to have to camp out in Molco until the Players finished said Mission or potentially opened up the Wall to Molco to give him more legroom to work with until said Mission was done.

Just one hour to get what he came for… Not that he needed that long to get the information he needed.

So as long as he got it done, he could find a place to relax or help set up the right mood for the backdrop by following the lead of the other Harriers. Except, instead of that, bail out and pretend he was incompetent with his duties and hope that no Reaper was observant today.

Thus, he let himself drift around the area, trying to calm his nerves that started up as he shuffled around Vultures lingering on the spot in wait for their meals to present themselves. He threw his head around as he tried to pinpoint any Support Reapers in the masses, hoping that Jimmy's friends weren't stuck on the otherside of the stupid Wall so he didn't have to gawk at it like the rest of the Vultures.

His general distaste for when he had been hunting in the past was the wait, chiefly because of how he was stuck trying to wear down an entrée containing his targets rather than the whole buffet, which these present-Day Vultures had their eyes set on. And yet, he couldn't help but feel detached in a sense upon thinking that. He very well knew why, but he couldn't help but feel almost crestfallen that he would never have the same adrenaline rushes or enjoyment of harassing the Wrongdoers again because-

"Oof-" He half-sprang into stumbling backwards upon bumping into a Vulture. He took a moment to catch his bearings before he found he had been mistaken, as he noticed they were wearing a red hoodie, immediately feeling his eyes sharpen as he heard them half-heartedly give him a half-assed apology before slinking away. He didn't let them leave his sight as they fell further away from him in the crowd, instead feeling every part of his body go rigid in alertness.

He could have sworn that may have been one of the Reapers he was looking for.

Without another thought about it, he took after them at a slower pace, hopefully appearing relaxed to the naked eye as he saw how they were drawing themselves to perhaps the corner of the district. That was probably where the other friend of Jimmy and Michito was waiting…

It wasn't much longer until the Harrier was out of the crowd to have space to himself to freely beeline in the same direction as the unsuspecting Support. This was when the Harrier let his feet move faster until he briskly ended his amble a fairly good distance away to call himself a stranger to the pair until he initiated contact.

Inhaling to steady and brace himself, the Harrier reminded himself to modulate his voice before he finally went in.

"Some wait, huh?" he chose to say first in a lowered voice, hopefully not the laughable kind that wouldn't let those two not take him seriously. As such, they did take notice of him as their conversation seemingly tapered off, which the Harrier pretended not to notice, as he sauntered a bit closer to test the waters of how close he could remain without inciting them. "I'm not surprised even though there'll be plenty to go around."

Even putting out that made the taste of ash return to his mouth and the memory of his first kills came to mind. He tried to shake it out of his head as one of the friends replied impassively, "Eh... it's not like it's exciting."

"We are Support Reapers, after all," added the other friend with a shrug, who was next to a wall of a building. "Not our territory to get as close and personal to them as you can."

The Harrier couldn't help but smirk a little. It was good that Jimmy and Michito's friends weren't opposed to small talk, which gave the Harrier more wiggle room to work with. He nodded calmly before tilting his head down to better concentrate on smoothing out the frayed ends of Andy's mustard hoodie hems, trying to lay them flatter against his sides before he soon drew his head up again to regard them once more.

"I'm just curious, actually..." He crossed his arms loosely, cocking his head as he soon continued, "Not really in the mood to join in on the action, myself right now. Just wanting to know what we're up against for the moment." He shrugged with his shoulders briefly before he shook his head. "With everyone jumping them, I don't have much of a chance to dine if anything."

As much as he cringed internally at his previously decided mannerism of speaking, he couldn't help but be pleased when he realized they seemingly bought into it right off the bat from the way they gave delayed nods. He held back a sigh of relief and instead converted it into a smack of his lips.

"Say… are you guys here for the same?" he posed carefully, as a casual invitation for discussion.

"Usually we just stick around in case one of you guys need us for Erasure Assists," offered the one that usually sounded to be in a bad mood. His hood was drawn back enough for the Harrier to see the trace of his face, chin and his brown eyes that were slightly narrowed. "Might as well catch a few Points if there's going to be a lot of Players swarming the place."

"Hmm… fair." The Harrier nodded politely before he drew a little closer with two steps. He raised one of his hands up. "Not like this'll be the norm forever, so I get you."

"Surprised you're willing to stick around when you're fine not getting anything out of it," then commented the same Reaper as he angled his head to one side. "Much less talking to us when you're holed in."

For a brief moment, the Harrier was somewhat confused by what he meant until the Harrier realized what he may have been referring to.

Casting one glance past his scapular, he let his gaze dwell momentarily before chuckling as he returned it to Jimmy and Michito's friends. "Plenty of Points banked for me already... but what I'm really after is learning some cool tricks for when I do my stuff again," he slickly replied in a nonchalant tone. He shifted as he crossed his arms again then sighed happily, "Can't say I'm set for 'life', but it's a bore when you're up on top."

Seeing as he gained a positive reception from how quick the two were to mumble in askant agreement, the Harrier knew he was in the clear yet didn't dare to let himself loosen his words. He had an agenda for being here, so he couldn't just yap it up about their boorish duties all Day. It was fine time to switch gears to fruition…

The Harrier let himself amble over to the building wall one of them was now leaning on, setting up shop like them as he took on a confident yet poised stance as he rested his back against it. "But what about you guys?" he asked as he shed them a slight look, trying his hardest not to falter when he gave his next delivery. "Do you know of any other friends who may be lacking?"

He was given a long look by the one with the slightly parted hood. The Harrier felt as if that friend kind of acted like the authority figure between the two, so he hoped he phrased it in a way that didn't press down on the subject too hard. If he raised their suspicions already, his work here today may as well be stanched before it's time.

Soon the Support shifted his position and answered tartly, "Actually…" Blinking at the taper he heard, the Harrier gave the male his full-attention as he sensed something seemed off about that delivery. No, not off… the Harrier may have been too on the nose for his questions. It appeared as if the Harrier may have hurt his chances if he read the response right.

The Support remained silent for a little while longer until he sighed, "A friend of ours- or to be more specific- a friend of one of our friends…" He placed a hand over his temple and the Harrier saw his lips pull into a tight grimace. "Man, it's pretty messed up."

The Harrier furrowed his eyebrows as his heart fell into his stomach. Even for a moment, he felt as if a torrent of air had been blasted straight into his eardrums; silence assaulting him before the dizziness came in. Then he blinked to dispel the blurriness of his gaze before nodding and swallowing thickly. "Are they… 'gone'?" he came to say after he mostly recovered.

Between the group, the Harrier felt as if he struck the wrong chord as he was subject to watching them react in their own fashions. The 'leader''s hand dropped to join the other in clenching at their sides as he released a shallow exhale while the one on the wall with the Harrier bowed his head solemnly.

The disguised Reaper felt the need to apologize for bringing it up all of a sudden, even unlatching his arms to reach out towards the duo, but he wasn't given a chance to express the words he wanted.

"We only met her once, but she…" started the one on the wall then shook his head. "Oh man, she was just too nice."

The Harrier lowered his hand, leaving it dangle by his side as he felt heat behind his gaze. He didn't want to tear up right now about it, but just hearing that affirmation about how he thought of her was suddenly too much for him to handle. Unlike what happened at Jimmy's home, the Harrier knew that statement's tone alone held enough weight to show how much she seemingly impacted them. So he merely stood there and blinked slowly, hopefully to not have them come out as he exhaled with a tremble.

Eventually, when the Harrier felt he could speak without screwing up his cover through his voice, he asked uneasily, "I'm sorry- Did she… 'Starve'? What happened to her?"

As the two soon exchanged glances between each other, the 'leader' was the one to regard the inquiries. "When we saw her last, she had been tailing the Players Three Days ago."

'Tailing?' The Harrier knitted his eyebrows in bewilderment. He didn't want to assume too early, but it almost sounded like Honoka's sighting may have occurred before her run-in with the Posh Bastard. He couldn't fault Michito for leaving that out, though, seeing as that didn't seem like relative information.

"It's weird because usually when she's around, Michito is close by. So we knew something was up," explained the Leader in a stoic sort of sadness, which was kind of the best the Harrier could do to describe his voice right now. The Reaper paused for a while before he added, "Michito is one of our friends, you see. She had been his Partner when they were in the Game."

The Harrier drew a hand up to rest it on his chin. "You only met her once, yet never saw her during the Game with your friend?" Upon receiving a quick nod from both of them, the Harrier could only frown in bewilderment. "So wait, when you mean your friend, does that mean-"

"We only met Michito later after he became a Reaper," simply said the one neighbouring the Harrier on the wall. The Harrier turned his head just as the Support went on, "We were still learning the ropes of being Support Reapers when they were doing their Game."

"Michito mentions her a lot. He fills in the gaps we have about her, so we still kind of practically know her," said the authoritative Reaper of the duo with a clench of his teeth. "...Even if we did only meet her once."

Letting go of his jaw just to rub at his eye when it felt like tears were ready to leak out, he pretended it was just exhaustion as he swallowed. He soon spoke cautiously, "What does tailing Players have anything to do with…" He grimaced, feeling his face screw up briefly. "With her being gone?"

"She was good at listening to people's problems." The one on the wall gave a sigh, lowering his hood to the ground. He then breathed out gloomily, "But she wasn't good at understanding when to keep her distance."

The Harrier found himself almost smiling sadly at that statement; blinking tearfully. 'I hated that so much.'

"Honoka's kind of naïve, is what we're trying to say," added the one in charge. His frown only deepened shortly after he had spoken. "Had her head in the clouds… a lot of the time." His jaw looked rigid now, even going stiffer when he groaned dolefully, "We eventually saw her turn a corner when we were passing by, and she… she never came out. Never from either Plane." His voice sounded disturbed. "We even checked the alleyway ourselves."

'...She Starved out of view...' thought the Harrier in dismay, sucking in a breath shakily. 'But Michito said she faded away in the...' His eyes widened; a flare up of anger entered his chest. 'So Michito was lying! She just gave him the slip that Day and he assumed she hadn't left the Barracks!'

No wonder Michito wasn't certain of himself, to him it looked clear and simple. Since he hadn't been around when she left, he merely accepted she was gone without verifying it for himself. And so Honoka suffered in silence. The Harrier believed the likely notion was that she wasn't tailing Players, she was hunting Players despite having little yield for her effort. If she seemingly understood this, then it made sense that given she cared too much about people, she knew of Joben and Haruo so she hid herself away out of compassion...

Her stupid compassion; the compassion that wasn't needed when she knew of her dire situation. She should have asked for help to begin with, yet-

"Or maybe not?" The one on the wall suddenly shook his head. "I don't think she had because it definitely looked like she was following Players until the end of the Mission."

'Huh?' Blinking at the new information, the Harrier couldn't help but frown. ...Honoka hid herself away after failing to get a kill for herself then faded away? But the first Reaper said they checked the alleyway...

"Earlier on, but she definitely went in during the Mission," said the Leader brusquely. "I saw her."

The Support on the wall shook his head, much to the Harrier's frustration, as he protested, "What are you saying? I didn't see her go anywhere like that!"

"Then you didn't look hard enough because she went right in between two shops, Haruo!"

"The Scramble Crossing has no shops!"

"I'm talking about nearby Hachiko's statue, dimwit! Why would I be talking about the Scramble Crossing!?"

"But she went into the Scramble Crossing!"

"And she didn't stay there- she went into an alleyway!"

As the Harrier turned his head between the two Reapers, who continued to argue adamantly, his voice became hoarse at some point. "Following Players… Turning a corner… During or after the Mission..." He gritted his teeth as he demanded unhappily, "Can't you make up your minds about what happened!?"

Suddenly, as he watched their heads sharply whip to him, the Harrier felt the blood in his face drain as he widened his eyes. 'Shit...'

The Leader snorted out rudely as he stomped his way towards the Harrier, stopping short of a hairline before he growled, "What does it matter to you anyway!?" His hands balled up as the Harrier pulled himself along the wall before leaving it to finally have enough room to back away. He edged away more as the other stalked after him and snarled, "You never knew her!"

It was as if he had been slapped across the face at that very moment, because the Harrier remained in shocked silence as he stared back at the now enraged Reaper. 'This is bad… this is bad-'

"And what right do you have to butt in on our business!?" continued the Support scathingly as he swung his arms towards the Harrier, who moved out of the way in time to avoid having Andy's hoodie be grabbed and stepped back more as the Harrier felt his gaze burn. It burned not only in anger but in appall, even misery, as he heard the words ringing in his head. He couldn't think rationally or clearly to get himself out of his fuckup as he stared at the other who snapped, "Hoping to make us feel even more bad about it than we already do because you're strong enough to put us in our places if you wanted to just to make sure you have us complacent with doing some fucking errand by exploiting us through our woes!?"

The Harrier-in-disguise backed away trepidly as the other advanced closer, bringing them more and more towards the milling crowds he felt behind himself. He wanted nothing more than to tell the Support he wasn't going to do any of that, yet the harsh reminders thrown at him felt like they were chipping away at his ability to not freak out further and his control over his upset.

Honoka wasn't someone who deserved to be used as a token. Even if he didn't know her, he wouldn't indulge in underhanded means like this to coerce Reapers into assisting him for anything. But he did know her to a remote degree, yet he couldn't be angry at Jimmy and Michito's friend for insulting him this severely.

The Erased Support Reaper didn't need them fighting. He didn't want to fight over this when it would achieve nothing...

Upon stopping again, not wanting to move further as he didn't want to draw in the interest of bystanders, he stiffened into a taller posture stressfully as the Leader snarled out loudly once he came to a heavy halt, "Have one of your pals be Erased and see if you like it, fucker!"

The Harrier's face contorted in silent agony. 'I already have...'

As the Support drew in ragged, laboured breaths, his friend ran over on one side of him but stayed far enough away to remain behind him. "Take it easy, Joben-" hurriedly started the other Support as he stretched his arm out with concern. "He's not worth it."

"Bullshit- not when he's acting like he's owed that information!" threw back the enraged Reaper as he whipped back to face his friend. His body remained rigid as he growled out harshly, "I've had enough shit on my plate with the whole Player-killing-Players, Jimmy- I won't let another Reaper think we're just going to do what he wants when it doesn't have anything to do with him!"

The Harrier could feel a lot of movement, stares turning to him as he felt them burning through Andy's hoodie. He could hardly bring himself to breathe over the fact that so many Vultures had their attention on him, suddenly wanting to throw up and curl up on the ground until he luckily disappeared from the mess he created to stop them. However, wishing wasn't enough to save him from his humiliation as the burns only grew intenser.

He had to leave; he had to leave now yet the Walls were still up. He couldn't fly to get out of this district because he didn't have the stupid wings he needed to escape-

Upon hearing the click echoing through the district, the Harrier's thoughts had stopped before he was aware of how he was pushing through bodies to rush into Spain Hill. A new thought had instilled into him that he could get out of Molco; he could at the very least stay in the only other open Route there was to avoid the Reapers...

Even with his flawed thinking, he didn't right away feel himself calm down as he trudged desperately deeper into the forested area. He stopped only when he couldn't bring his body to move further, to pant and become aware of how fast he was breathing as he stood in the shade of the multitude of heavily foliaged trees. He knew he was sick to his stomach as he felt the tears he had been holding back well around the contour of his eyes; everything was bleary as he curled his arms around his churning stomach while inhaling hoarsely.

He just had to have this happen to him when he could have held his fucking composure instead of losing his cool when asking questions, didn't he!?

The next thing he knew he had his hand around his nape, feeling the skin underneath as he was squeezing it; his head lowered as he was aware of how he released more and more shallow yet ragged puffs of breath. He had no idea why he was reacting so poorly to the situation when he has always been used to…

...Footfalls?

He blinked unsteadily as he drew in another harsh intake of air, not moving from his spot as he realized someone had followed him back here. It didn't do him wonders that he wasn't in a good state of mind to face them properly, especially when it was the last thing he wanted when he was in the middle of freaking out.

As he let his hand slip out from Andy's mustard hood, to limply fall at his side, he heard another quicker set of steps. He wearily listened to the second newcomer. "Why'd you leave me like that!? I get that you don't get along with the other Players, but we can't lag behind-"

While the Harrier idly wondered why the Pact had to intrude on him, he couldn't help but feel uneasy that they were pretty much alone. If he judged the amount of movements correctly in the district, that is.

"Think the Mission's here unlike the others?" asked the chatty Player in mockful scorn. "Come on, man… we shouldn't be sidetracking if it isn't!"

"This isn't sidetracking if we sort out this issue," said the other Partner.

The Harrier felt his body grow cold in a matter of seconds, staring forward unseeingly. His chest refused to expand anymore to accommodate his lungs as he felt any air left in him stagnated, not caring he wasn't able to bring himself to respond the way he needed to as he found himself fighting both the vertigo and the vomit that threatened to climb his throat.

He didn't have to turn around to verify it.

"I can't forget that you do that," said the Player Killer slyly, his words almost swirling around the Harrier and strangling him further as the Harrier wanted to pass out and hope this was just a stupid nightmare feigning reality. And yet, as he stared forward at nothing but the cyan, diamond-imbued Wall that was faintly visible, he knew in the back of his mind, he was dead wrong. "Whenever you panicked over your first few Partners' Erasures… you would keep squeezing and squeezing your neck like it was some dumb compulsion to make yourself get over it quicker. But why now? Why slink back to old habits if you're not the same as you were before? Or are you still scared like the coward you always have been?"

Shifting his head slightly, the Harrier struggled to breathe in as his vision bleakened briefly. He wanted to pretend this wasn't happening.

If he had his wings, he would have a way to escape this situation, but he couldn't. He didn't know what was worse, but a part of him clung to the idea that he wouldn't be hurt because the Players weren't allowed to attack Reapers. But this wasn't just any Player- this was a stone-cold murderer who wore the face of a Player. He had every reason to hurt the Harrier; his motives weren't unpredictable.

"Hey, you know that guy?" questioned the Partner with cautious inquisitiveness. The reprieve was enough for the Harrier to gulp in a helping of oxygen to cull the vertigo, but it wasn't enough to ease the tension. "Old relations? Bad blood? Because shouldn't we just go back instead of-"

"We have unfinished business," said the Player Killer coolly; his footsteps made the Harrier's chest seize. "The other Players don't need us."

"Come on, man- Can't you quit this and go along with what we're supposed to do!?" The Harrier wished he could claw his way through to the other side of the Wall if it meant putting as much distance as he could between him and that killer. He didn't even care if he didn't have hands anymore. "This isn't worth it-"

"I'll be the judge of that. You go figure out the Mission if you're that impatient," sneered the Player Killer uncaringly as his pace didn't increase or decrease. It was a steady, slow advance towards the one who couldn't make himself move because of how much fear was coursing through his system. "It's not like they appreciate my presence."

At those words, the suffocation he was experiencing vanished as his mind sobered. It was so surreal… yet it allowed for the Harrier to grasp himself. To focus on the here and now despite how hard it was to ward off the numbness inside himself.

All that mattered was the fact that this killer, the Player Killer...

He finally found his voice. "...Because you're the reason why they're here again." It came out hoarse and quiet, even though he wanted to have shouted it. The Harrier's lips felt just as numb as he felt as they moved more. "Wh-What do they owe the one who killed them!?"

The Player Killer had halted; he was close to the Harrier. That was all the Harrier knew and wanted to change very quickly.

Balling up his hands, hearing the audible gasp from the Partner, the silence from the Player Killer, the Harrier kept his head low as he mumbled bitterly, "If I were in their shoes… I wouldn't give you my time of Day. I wouldn't even if you gave me a shit excuse like your hand slipped."

The Harrier was aware he was still shaking, trembling on the spot he stood paralyzed. He could feel the Player Killer's gaze on him, not moving off of him, and if he listened closely enough, the killer's breaths were coming out harsh. The Player Killer was angry, probably not reacting as well as he should. A part of the Harrier almost felt the urge to smirk, if he weren't so scared about the unknown outcome. Whether he was going to be finished off, mocked down to allow his anxiety to eat the rest of him, or if he could slip himself away in time before he found out...

He just didn't know. All he knew was that he was talking back.

It surprised himself, that in spite of the stress breaking his body down, in spite of how he could vomit almost on command to finally get it out, that he was managing to talk, to stall, to crack at the Player Killer right where it meant despite his state of mind. He knew it was dangerous, but he was already in the pit of the dire; the worst at its worstest…

There was no denying that he had another death wish, even though that wasn't going to work here. But it could, all the same.

Faintly, he smiled. "You have… you have no reason to chase after me." His lips began to quiver. "D-Don't drag anyone else into this, just walk away…"

"What is wrong with you?" The Harrier frowned at the ice in the Player Killer's voice. "You think you can walk away, even though you're just like me!? What a joke-" The Harrier tensed as he heard him stomp over briskly. "What a hypocrite!"

The Harrier felt a jolt go through him, but as he tried to dive to the side, his body wasn't compliant enough to be fast as his shoulders were seized. Then the Harrier next knew of the stabbings as his body was shoved into the Wall, releasing his wail of agony as his left side and right wrist flared up in greater pain.

Without thinking he scrabbled his foot against the ground and managed to hook it around one of the Player Killer's, pushing himself away to fall onto the asphalt to hiss out a breath. All he knew was that his skin was on fire, even below his hoodie was radiating ache and sting as he swung his arms out to plant them on the ground behind himself. Above him the messy haired killer was already up on his feet, leaving the Harrier to breathe unsteadily as he pulled himself back more, hoping to put more distance between them when he realized the Player Killer had already caught up to him.

A sudden feeling of helplessness washed over him, leaving him reeling as his mind flashed between the time before in the alleyway and now. The similar position made him sink into it more.

His body shuddered involuntarily as he tried his best to fish himself out of this before he felt his left flank scream in white pain upon receiving a hard kick into it. He felt himself curl over himself only to feel his shoulder receive the same treatment, biting his lip as his muffled cry keened out before he tried to reach his hand out.

"J-Just leave me alone!" he pleaded desperately, his bleary vision making it harder to think from the bursts of vertigo assaulting him. "St-Stop!" The brown haired killer ignored his warnings, making him cry out louder, "ST-STOP!"

Just as the Harrier miserably braced for the next strike, he watched the Player Killer leave his vision with a startled cry. The Harrier couldn't bring himself to look away from the spot the Player Killer had been standing in, breathing shakily as he soon saw his surroundings cement on the tree shade of Spain Hill before swallowing in a large gulp of air.

After a minute of trying to contemplate what happened, he gradually drew his body up carefully as he shifted his gaze around. Even though he was alone, he felt himself shiver at the thought of that just being a hallucination, not wanting to find out what would occur if he didn't leave the Route now.

As he started to trudge as fast as he could with a limp towards where he came from, the only obvious answer he could come up with was that the Player Killer was pulled into a Noise fight. That thought spurred his pained movements on as he knew he did not have long; a previous Game veteran wouldn't have trouble at this point in the Week.

Just as he got himself to the lines between this district and Molco, he only froze with a start when he realized two Support Reapers were coming in to go the opposite direction. 'Shit- Act cool, or they'll notice you're hurt!' He tried to move his limbs in a more controlled manner.

However, instead of passing by without incident, the two of them stopped and the Harrier narrowly avoided having his arm being caught by the closest one. He only managed to catch his footing when the same Support spoke hesitantly, "Hey, wait-" While the Harrier was about to push himself away and briskly keep walking through the pain, he stopped abruptly when the Reaper sharply added, "We just want to talk with you!"

Immediately feeling faint when he realized these Supports were Jimmy's friends again, his momentary lapse in concentration allowed for the Reapers to cut his path off by taking positions on each side of the Harrier while staying in front of him. That snapped his mind back to the present and the fact that he had been trying to leave.

He stepped back frightfully, intent on darting around them when the Leader huffed as he crossed his arms, "Hold it- we want answers-"

It took all the strength he had in his body to not flinch as he glanced at them, not wasting any time when he hurriedly blurted out, "I don't have the time to chat-" He whipped his head over his shoulder as he went on fearfully, "I got a Player on my hands who's intent on Erasing me-"

Just as he was about to sprint on past them, knowing he had to rip himself away if they were to grab him, the Reaper nearest to him exclaimed, "Wait- what are you talking about!?"

"I don't have time to explain!" he hissed frantically, drawing his hands out to push them to the side if he had to. "Just let me go-"

Joben flinched visibly. "...You're him, aren't you?"

As if that was needed to daze him, the Harrier's movements froze. He didn't mean to freeze up on the spot, but the realization that he just blew his cover hit him at the wrong time. Just the Support's tone alone told him there was no error on his identity.

Before he could try to pitifully persuade them that he wasn't himself, the other Reaper half-shouted out incredulously, "Wait, he's Blackie?" All the Harrier could do was take a step back in horror and throw that idea out immediately. He didn't know what to do as he heard Haruo's tone drop drastically into a whisper. "Is... is it really you?"

The Harrier couldn't find it in himself to manage a response right now. Not just because of that revelation, but also the fact he heard feet landing back on asphalt.

As if that wasn't enough to daunt him, he felt his breath hitch when he received verbal confirmation of more to come from the Player Killer's yell, "You're stupid- give it here!" Already the Harrier felt his blood drain from his face as he realized Jimmy's friends kept staring at him, the burn from their gazes only disappearing as they looked past him when the Player Killer's Partner protested angrily. The Harrier felt the Pact roughly move around in an obvious struggle until the tink of metal caught his ear. "Because of you he's over there, asshole-"

Soon the Harrier was aware of how Jimmy's friends fell in closer to him, but he quickly came to realize they weren't trying to block him anymore. Upon spinning around to gawk dumbly at how they spread themselves in a line, their shoulders close and their bodies tense, the moment the Player Killer skid to a halt before the wall of Reapers, the Harrier could hardly bring himself to move when he felt his tormentor's glare strike him again.

"What's this!?" screeched the Player Killer in sneering scorn, his pale grey eyes roaming over the Reapers before they narrowed to slits. "More Reapers for you to hide behind!?" He sounded awfully frustrated; that didn't spell good news for the Harrier.

As the Harrier numbly tried to make his limbs work, Joben huffed coldly, "This the guy?"

When the Harrier realized that question was actually for himself, his quivering lower lip soon stilled when he pressed it against his top one in his gulp. He gave an uncomfortable nod. "Y-Yeah…"

With a single look over his shoulder to the Harrier then facing the Pact again, the Leader's hands became fists. "Go." Blinking in surprise at that, the Harrier's eyes were already wide when the Leader twitched his head curtly. "We'll count this down as an Erasure Assist."

For a brief moment, the Harrier wanted to warn them, to tell them to run too… But part of the reassurance he was being given a chance to escape made him choose faster than his mind could formulate a counterargument to make him reconsider it.

Turning away, the Harrier pushed hard on his feet into the sunlight, relieving him of his panic when the change of scenery gave his memories peace. But he didn't dwell on it for too long as he threw himself into the closest crowd he saw, sluggishly wading through other mustard hoodie wearers as he felt his heart thump deeply in his chest.

While he wasn't sure what was going to happen, he only could hope they weren't going to be-

"Hey!" His body was abruptly catapulted backwards, making him stumble in alarm and déjà vu as he tried to figure out who he may have barreled into next. "Waatch eit!"

As he froze in horror in front of the disgruntled Reaper, he couldn't bring himself to respond while Andy's amber-brown continued to fiercely glower him down. He couldn't afford to answer her, not when he knew how verbal his friend was; not when it would be an instant mistake! He could already hear her screech of shock in his head…

Andy finally gave a growl in her throat. She shook her head stiffly in disapproval as she groaned something in frustration; something he wasn't able to decipher in his daze. Probably English, he belatedly realized, as she shouldered past him.

'Thank goodness she didn't recognize her hoodie...' he thought numbly as he didn't take a glance to where she went, instead standing on his own as he unsteadily took in a breath. 'D-Did she already get her kills for the Day? But she usually doesn't stick around after...'

"Taomaorrlaow… daon'tt terl aahneeaone wherre aI'rl be."

His eyes widened. 'Oh god no-' Why hadn't he realized it sooner!?

Andy didn't want anyone to know what she was doing... even though every Reaper, every Vulture knew what she did in her existence. Whenever she wasn't Erasing the Partner he left behind when he Erased his targets when he had, when it came to her turn with Wrongdoers... she never left a target she killed beforehand walk unharmed.

And if she was here still...

She was going after the Player Killer!

Frantically he turned around, whipping his head around wildly as he searched the crowd. He almost called out her name on instinct, refraining from it luckily when he managed to keep his self-possession in check as he started to totter on the spot in his disorientation. 'Where is she!?'

While he had no qualms over her capabilities, something in his head was telling him it was too dangerous this time. Whether it was from his own experience or the fact that he was still running high on his stress and adrenaline, he wasn't sure, but what he did know was that he didn't want-

Stopping on the spot, his stomach was tired from all the leaps and bounds it had already been doing. His heart was straining; his chest tightening; it happened all at once when he saw the Player Killer marching into the district. He slowly drew a few steps back before ducking into another crowd as his mind whirled.

His lungs were on fire at how quickly he was breathing again as he silently continued to freak out. 'H-He got past them-' He screwed his eyes shut and gasped in a pathetic inhale he found himself choking on. 'D-Don't tell me they didn't drag his Pact into the Inter-Planes!?'

He couldn't gather the courage to move his body after he thought that, clenching his eyes harder as he violently shook. Losing control over his body at a time like this was the worst thing to have happened, but he was too dizzy to think of a way to snap himself out of this.

It was happening again… he couldn't not do this at the worst place, could he? It was only a matter of time before he was found because he willingly had come here by mistake to cause his own Erasure because he couldn't just accept Michito's word because Honoka-

His head snapped towards the sound of a bang; it pierced through his thoughts as though they were butter.

A hand grabbed his before he saw more bullets pelt the cement around the now shocked Player Killer.

Screams were coming from the Reapers he was congregating with, running away as he was yanked backwards, when large bursts of lava broke loose from the bullets cracking open. He was taken aback as when his feet came to a stop, feeling a presence and the hand leave him, the molten liquid stopped short of the black tips of his Scampers. He couldn't help but edge back warily from not detecting the threat sooner until he took in the dissipating form of the shrieking Player Killer, who sent a withering glare around in aggravation before the upper half of his dissipating body crumpled into the dangerous pool of magma as his final scream faded out into the Route.

Confusion swarmed him immensely as he started to hear startled murmurs rippling around him, feeling almost waterlogged as he absently stared forward in discombobulation. He found his chest hurt, faintly aware of how he was bringing a hand over his front to grip at the stained hoodie fabric.

The Harrier couldn't believe he was close to meeting the same fate from his panic attack. In fact, he couldn't believe the Player Killer went down like that. But did the Harrier overestimate the killer's abilities to survive a brutal barrage as that one was?

Whatever the case was, that attack wasn't for show. He only knew one person who had the Eructation Ammunition Psych...

He then blinked rapidly at a shout, "Reapers aren't allowed to confront Players directly until Day 7- What do you think you were doing!?"

Very soon, the Harrier followed the gazes of Vultures to where he nearly cringed at the sight of Andy. She was atop the low overhang of a building, in plain view of the masses gathered in Molco.

Even from where the Harrier viewed her from, his ears easily recognized the arrogance of her loud crow, "AI ded the aone thing y'aaahrl weree taoo chiccken ta aahcaomprish!"

Feeling the Vultures around him start to move, he mindlessly let himself be pulled into the wandering towards Andy's location. By the time they stopped, he could see her expression as she shamelessly faced the crowd from her proud perch; bent-tipped, large wings flared out; her Psych firearm slack in her grasp…

To him, he could only describe how imposing, how valiant she seemed up there. And that scared him.

"Where's your uniform!?" shouted a Reaper in scandalization, or rather, sounding like she was seeing Andy naked. He partly wanted to laugh at that but instead vaguely fiddled with the loose strings of the mustard hoodie's hem in the meantime.

"Daon'tt need eit." Andy's lips quirked into a snide smirk, moving her arm to cock her gun over her exposed shoulder as she then huffed, "Naott eif eit meaans naothing bautt baurlsheitt naow."

As the Harrier's eyes furrowed as he wordlessly continued to gawk at her, in the corner of his vision, some of the Vultures having their hoods down adopted miffed expressions. His ears even caught conversations forming and hints of insults starting to be thrown at the dirty blonde. Yet Andy remained still as she faced the crowd, a large grin pulling onto her lips the longer she stood there in her tank-top.

Only for her to frown down at another Vulture in annoyance when he angrily yelled angrily at her, "The Conductor will hear about this, Andy!"

Andy's face cracked as she let out a short laugh from a harsh snort, "AI daon'tt caarre-" She dismissed her firearm to shrug with her arms and shook her head. "Hee daoesn'tt carre aahbaoutt thrleaatts, sao aI ded whaatt nao aone haad the gutts ta dao." Before any of the Vultures spoke more, Andy leaned down on her hands she placed over her knees and jeered, "Prlaotect yaawrr aahsses!"

Vultures started to recoil, clearly affronted by what she had told them. However, the Harrier noticed that some of the Vultures were giving sounds of reluctant agreement. He couldn't help but widen his eyes after noticing that.

"Ded yaa knaow thaaatt Praayerr waas the aone thaatt brlaought daown aotherr pleviaous Praayerrs flaom the Learrglaound?" she then spat back, earning some startled gasps that she let pan out. She soon continued while raising her chin and clenched her free hand, "The aone thaatt aahrlmaostt kirled aone aof aus aahnd the aone the Caounductaarr dedn'tt waantt ta bee Elaased…?"

"Th-There had to have been a good reason!" sputtered out a Reaper close by to the Harrier, making the Harrier's gaze flick in their general direction. They spewed out more, "You know he plays his favourites…"

The Harrier frowned at that part and lowered his chin queasily.

Andy immediately glared furiously as retorted coldly, "Therre's naott!" She lashed a hand out to the side as she stamped down hard. "He's retting aus saufferr- thaatt Praayerr waaas gaoing ta Elaase aus firlstt!"

"You don't know that!" snapped another Vulture. "The Conductor wouldn't be so foolish to-"

"He needs medical attention!" The rawful voice of distress easily captured their attention, especially the Harrier's when he remembered it belonged to the Player Killer's Partner.

Trudging wobblily with a red sleeve over his shoulder, the Partner was struggling to help a Support Reaper walk… Jimmy's friend's head was lolling almost weightlessly as his feet were unsteadily moving with the distressed Player. The Harrier widened his eyes in disbelief at how particles spewed out from various points on his body.

As the disguised Reaper could only watch as Reapers turned to observe this with him while others began breaking off from the crowd to reach the wounded Reaper. He intently waited for the other Support to appear, but the longer he found that he had waited, the longer it took for his heart to sink and his nausea to rise. 'H-He didn't...'

As soon as the Player passed one of Jimmy's friends off to one of the Vultures, he didn't do anything but fearfully regard the Reapers boring holes into him. He respectfully began talking in quiet to them, who may have been questioning him, until one of the Vultures swung back to the crowd. They seemed to be hesitating before the Reaper called out distraughtly, "His Partner Erased someone!"

As vertigo struck him, making him feel weak in the knees, the Harrier felt the sounds around him die as he continued to stare at the surviving friend of Jimmy. Faintly he soon found himself on his hands and knees, staring at the ground as buzzing swallowed his ears, not certain how fast he was breathing as his eyes began to burn. 'N-No...' Everything was fuzzy. 'N-No...'

His heart kept beating in his head. It was thick; it kept going; it continued to mock him; it didn't help how he could only concentrate on one thing right now. Why wouldn't the reminder of his existence be anything but torment on his thoughts?

'I... Erased them.'

His vision shook as his heart thudded harder.

'I Erased them!'

The buzzing wouldn't stop; his heart wouldn't stop; everything wouldn't stop-

'I ERASED THEM!'

All the Harrier knew now was the ground, clenching his eyes close to shut it out as he finally was aware that his chest felt like it was being stabbed with knives. 'THEY WERE ONLY TRYING TO PROTECT ME- THEY WERE ERASED BECAUSE OF ME!'

The foreign sensation of warmth on his body made him violently rip himself away from it, snapping his wide eyes open to dizzily regard worried- no, faceless looks- He now heard the sounds of cries, screams, wails, even yells of anger as he blindly contacted something, whipping towards it thoughtlessly as he wildly started turning his head around. He couldn't recognize anything anymore as he sucked in a bated breath, immediately clenching his nape tightly as he woozily struggled with his footing...

But then he caught molten orbs. He remained petrified wherever he was as he watched them silently broaden in horror.

Choking on his stifled breath as hotness streaked down his cheeks, the Harrier kept his fraught gaze on the amber-brown eyes until he turned abruptly and ran.

He didn't need to think as details were further lost to him; the instinct to run was much to great for him to process where he was going. His mind distantly picked up the fact that his hands and body ached and his throat was rawfully hurt, but by the time it did, he had stopped running. He had fallen onto the ground, feeling something hovering over him as all he could do was keep his head down and wail.

Wailing, wailing, wailing until he finally realized he was wailing out words. He was wailing out apologies. Orange and red joined him on the ground to sob as a violin began to play when everything was becoming fuzzy; when everything was nothing but pain...

His heart thudded in his head.

---

Years Ago...

---

"What is this?"

Blinking in surprise at his mother as his hand remained on the shooji door, the eighteen-year-old couldn't help but flinch from how angry she looked. He had only gotten home from work and this was the last thing he was expecting, but he knew this wasn't a matter over his perfect grades. It wasn't hard to realize what may have been the answer to her sudden outrage.

In her rigid, paled hand, clenched tightly, was what appeared to be a letter. The envelope discarded on the low table told him enough.

He shrank under the scalding heat of her darkened chocolate gaze after noticing that, keeping his chin low as he uneasily breathed, "W-We got a letter?"

Already, even before he finished speaking, he knew that was the wrong way to respond. He could only watch how her chocolate orbs grew colder within seconds, her pursed lips pinched into an ugly frown of disapproval as she immediately scoffed, "The clinic has made a mistake. Could you explain why they have a reason to give us these lies."

It wasn't an option, he told himself fearfully. She didn't want him beating around the bush.

As he felt his gulp go down his throat, numbness spreading down his body to make him sway on his toes, the teenager felt a sheen of sweat on the back of his neck as he found himself grasping it. A shudder soon went through him as he nervously said nothing, trying not to meet her piercing gaze as she sniffed expectantly, "Well?"

"I-I…" He half-closed his eyes as a dizziness made his vision swim. "M-My school suggested it…"

"The clinic is open on your school days- you skipped classes!?" she screeched scathingly. As he flinched again, keeping his head down dutifully in shame, she huffed shallowly, "Because the school 'told' you to? This is unacceptable… you know this is…"

"I-I was excused from them, Mother!" he gasped distressfully. "I made up for what I missed-"

When she sharply flicked the letter, he immediately bit back on the rest of his sentence then watched as she irritably pointed it stiffly to his cushion. Hanging his head more, he silently obeyed her as she stalked towards her side of the chabudai.

As soon as he seated himself, clasping his awkward hands on the table closer to his body, he still kept his gaze down as she stood behind her cushion. "It does not matter if you were excused, you still skipped your classes!" Her reproachful tone made him keep his tongue in check, quietly steeling himself when she spat, "You actively made a choice when you were supposed to stay on school grounds- and for what!? To go to the clinic when you had no reason to!?"

The eighteen-year-old desperately wanted to explain himself, but he instead frowned miserably as he let her tirade to go on. There was no need to exacerbate the situation right now… he had to take it...

"Look at me." Reluctantly, he did. As he drew his gaze up, fighting to keep it on her, she tautly frowned more. "Were you ill?"

He furrowed his eyebrows nervously. "N-No…"

Her nose wrinkled as she sneered on, "Were you hurt?"

This time he shook his head, resigning himself to not put up a fuss for her sake. He hoarsely replied, "N-No."

"Then tell me why they thought they had a reason to send you there!" she snapped harshly as her steely gaze narrowed more.

For a while, his throat was dry- so, so dry- so much so he knew he was choking on his breathing. He knew he had to tell her, even though he didn't want to part with that knowledge, knowing exactly how she would react to it. He feared what she would say, finding himself squirming on the inside of his churning stomach as he trembled where he sat. And there she was, still glaring him down vehemently for panicking before her; growing increasingly frustrated over his lack of cooperation…

He finally gasped in dizzily before blurting out, "Th-They were concerned!"

"Over what?" His mother's eyebrows lowered more over the top of her unflinching gaze.

"B-Because they thought…" He nipped his lower lip sharply then whimpered, "I-I w-was… w-was acting not like myself?"

"'Not acting like yourself'?"

While he panicked more on the spot, he mulled over that he knew exactly what they told him. But he couldn't just say it outloud! What they told him only made him retreat back to stumbling over his thoughts as he silently freaked out again, hating how much he was making this worse by not laying down the story right. It was both stupid and horrible of him to skip over the details-

Over the truth…

He didn't even want to hear himself admit what the people at the clinic told him, as if that would mollify the terribleness to some degree and soften the blow… Even if his mother was trying to force out the words she didn't want to hear.

"Have your grades been slipping?"

The eighteen-year-old's head whipped up sharply in disbelief. "Th-They haven't-" he meekly answered then shook his head. He replied again less pathetically this time, "N-No, they're perfect…"

"One-hundred?"

"Top of the class," he agreed immediately, readily, even eagerly as he somewhat felt his body sink in relief when her manner subsided slightly. He even nodded once he noticed she wasn't replying yet. "Nothing wrong with them," he softly added hopefully.

In spite of his reprieve, it was fleeting and brief, he jarringly realized. Her gaze had sharpened uncaringly. "The clinic had the gall to send us something else."

At her aloof news, he widened his eyes as he felt his lower jaw fall. "Th-They d-did?"

She flippantly gestured to the envelope and sniffed, "Go on… read it." As his eyes flickered to it tentatively, she pressed, "Read it."

Without a second thought, he reached over to examine the envelope he pulled towards himself. He easily saw the clinic name and address and their home's address neatly written out, hesitating momentarily before nervously hooking on to the remaining paper it had.

Once he eased it out and unfolded it with his shaky grip, he silently pored over the information. He saw the psychologist's signature long before he let his eyes skim his birthday, gender, address and the blank before forcing himself to address the elephant in the room to read what the paper's intentions detailed. A quick moment passed after he had and it became a minute of staring as he grimaced apprehensively.

"You are normal, my son," his mother told him, making him quietly regard her to distract himself from the information. "The clinic does not need to prescribe medication to someone who has nothing wrong with them."

The teenager nodded thickly despite how his fingers curled against the chabudai.

His mother then shook her head dismissively and sniffed, "Yet you still went." He blinked unseeingly for a brief moment before they refocused again when she continued shallowly, "Do you think something is wrong with you?"

His heart beated in his ears; his throat was locking up as all he could do was stare at her openly with lightheadedness. He sharply took in a breath, harshly breathing soon as he couldn't- didn't want to answer her…

The guilt he had when he explained himself that day came back in full-force- a greater force, to be exact, as his gaze welled. He tried to hold back the heat behind his eyes as he swayed a bit, soon bringing his gaze back down at the prescription as a torrent gushed through his ears…

Then, after another minute or two, kept his head bowed. Everything was staticky… He couldn't figure out how he came upon the term or why he would use one he didn't understand, but the word entered his numbed thoughts as if it didn't care. The fuzziness and scribbles twitching sporadically over his patient information was almost the only thing he could concentrate on, right over the blank-

His senses cleared as his mother set down another paper over it. "Read this."

The son blinked and wordlessly did so.

His mother spoke sharply, "How much is the clinic billing us for?"

With a frown, he answered thoughtlessly, "25,500 Yen."

"How much does the government make us pay for the house each month?"

He grimaced. "80,000 Yen."

"How much is your monthly salary?"

The teenager hesitated until his mother prompted him again before sighing bleakly, "...30,500 Yen."

Her gaze was filled with disappointment when he next took a look at her. "I can look past your Is-" He screwed his face up with bewilderment. "- but not this. Dispose of what they sent us then do your chores and homework." She proceeded to settle herself onto her cushion while keeping her gaze on him, making him nod quietly before getting up himself. "You will be paying the clinic bill."

As he gathered the papers and envelope, he tried to not grimace. Perhaps it was for the best, considering they only had so much money to spare from his father's life insurance and mother's pension. He should get more shifts or hours to make up for this, he told himself woefully as he turned around.

The teenager was about to head for the front door when her voice sounded again. "Do you want our neighbors to know of this?"

After casting her a jolted look, noticing how her position remained the same, he struggled to blink as he frowned. "R-Right." He dropped his gaze to the floor. "S-Sorry."

She raised her chin as she folded her hands on the table. "If you are sorry, do not delay yourself."

"I will, Mother," he promised her before drawing his attention back to the papers. "It won't... t-take long."

It took a bit of pondering before he figured out what to do, turning away from his mother to unsteadily walk over to open the bathroom door. As soon as the door separated him from his mother, he absently stared at the contents of the envelope before trudging to the toilet and fell to his knees to lean over it.

First he reluctantly started to tear off bits of paper off of the clinic's notice, flushing down the drenched pulp twice. He then did the same for the envelope, only to pause at the prescription.

His heart felt heavy as he read over it again, as if to stall time to give himself a longer window to reconsider what he was about to do before heaving in a breath of what felt like toxicated oxygen. He started from the bottom then stopped at the top, right where the blank-

The whirlpool sucked the paper pulp down. He watched the swirling water numbly, faintly aware of how he shouldn't have been sobbing raggedly.

Especially when he was normal.

---

To be continued… hope you enjoyed the chapter! =3

---

EeveeGen9988: Hello, everyone! Surprised by the chapter drop? ...I don't know if you were but I was surprised I got it done this soon. =D

The reason why it took so long to get this one done was the fact that a lot of things had occurred since Part 7 came out. Some of it was good stuff, some of it was not the best stuff, but regardless, you have now read Part 8! And that, people, is a good thing! ;3

Since I still got two more chapters after this before next SOSS happens, I want to push through with these chapters so I can get ready with the chapters I have planned for this SOSS. Hopefully that goes well, there's a lot of exciting things to come in the future. I'm just very happy with how everything turned out this time around and I hope you feel the same. ;D

And it looks like you've stumbled upon something? Want to check it out...? :O

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PREVIOUS LETTER THREAD CONTENT [SUCCESSFULLY] RETRIEVED

DATE_OF_CREATION = 1/30/55/PM/SUN/18/JUNE/1975

THREAD_TYPE = [PRIVATE [HM to KF]

ENTRY_NO = 48159078

LOG_NAME = MsCFHL

DOCUMENT_ALIAS = Maeda's Cry For Help Logs - Entry 48159078

INCOMING RESPONSE [SUCCESSFULLY] RETRIEVED

DATE_OF_RETRIEVAL = 10/07/05/AM/THU/26/JUNE/1975

---

Maeda's Cry For Help Logs - Entry 48159078
DOCUMENT CONTENT IS AS FOLLOWS

Response #2HM to Response #2KF to Response #1HM to Response #1KF to Maeda's Cry For Help Logs - Entry #48159078
RESPONSE CONTENT IS AS FOLLOWS

Dear, Ms. Fukuhashi,

I went through what you sent me (I didn't know I was doing that badly) but I couldn't help but be really, really confused about part of what it had. I can get behind the other stuff, but that one part really confused me. Could we talk about that?

Okay, so I know you said you didn't want to comment more on it, but I don't know what you're talking about with this broke Psyche or fractured Compost. I had to have read it at least eight times before I started writing back to you and I'm still confused. I know I'm sayinig confused a lot but it doesn't make sense to me.

If you could explain it better, I would really appreiceite it!

I took everything but that from your feedback,
Hiraku Maeda

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Response #3KF to Response #2HM to Response #2KF to Response #1HM to Response #1KF to Maeda's Cry For Help Logs - Entry #48159078
RESPONSE CONTENT IS AS FOLLOWS

Dear, Mr. Maeda,

As you are well aware, I clearly stated that I would not discuss that subject more than I had. I may not be disappointed that you chose to concentrate on bettering yourself by looking over the feedback, however, I am mostly disappointed you chose to overanalyze a finished matter because of your confusion. You are supposed to be concentrating on constructing your Secret Documents and I will not stand to remind you in every interaction we have.

Please return to your duties,
Kotone Fukuhashi

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PREVIOUS LETTER THREAD CONTENT [UNSUCCESSFULLY] RETRIEVED

DATE_OF_CREATION = 1/30/55/PM/SUN/18/JUNE/1975

THREAD_TYPE = [PRIVATE [HM to KF]

ENTRY_NO = 48159078

LOG_NAME = MsCFHL

DOCUMENT_ALIAS = Maeda's Cry For Help Logs - Entry 48159078

INCOMING RESPONSE [UNSUCCESSFULLY] RETRIEVED

DATE_OF_RETRIEVAL = 10/35/50/PM/THU/26/JUNE/1975